Case Jaye Alexander Williams v. The State Court Supreme Court of Georgia Judge ELLINGTON (elected 2018) Date Decided May 19,
Case MARCUS ROLAND MAYE v. STATE OF FLORIDA Court Supreme Court of Florida Judge FRANCIS (Ron DeSantis, 2022) Date Decided
Case Marcus Roland Maye v. State of Florida Court Supreme Court of Florida Judge FRANCIS (Ron DeSantis, 2022) Date Decided
The Ninth Circuit held that Loper Bright’s elimination of Chevron deference does not undermine AEDPA’s deferential standard in habeas cases, reversing a district court’s grant of relief to a California death-row inmate.
The Ninth Circuit holds that when a racially biased juror is discovered and removed before a verdict is accepted, courts must apply the Remmer framework’s heavy presumption of prejudice—and reverses a tax-fraud conviction because the government could not rebut that presumption.
The Ninth Circuit holds that federal kidnapping under 18 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1) can be committed by deception alone, but vacates the murder-kidnapping conviction because the trial judge improperly coerced a unanimous verdict from a deadlocked jury.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of habeas relief for a California death row inmate, finding that the trial judge’s informal and at times inappropriate comments during trial did not demonstrate bias or render the proceedings fundamentally unfair.
Case Bryant v. State, No. S26A0097 Court Supreme Court of Georgia Judge COLVIN (Brian Kemp, 2021) Date Decided May 5,
The California Supreme Court holds that a non-killer accomplice with intent to kill is guilty of first-degree felony murder only if they aided the actual killer in the lethal act itself, not merely the underlying felony — reopening resentencing for many defendants previously denied.
When resentencing a defendant under section 1172.75, the trial court may reimpose an upper term using aggravating facts the defendant already stipulated to — no new jury findings required.
The Ninth Circuit issues an amended opinion granting a Rhines stay-and-abey for an Arizona death-row petitioner’s IAC-at-sentencing claim, and remands his Atkins intellectual-disability claim for the district court to address in the first instance.
Case State of Nebraska v. Michael M. Dicken Court Nebraska Supreme Court Judge Funke (Pete Ricketts, 2016) Date Decided May
Case Lee Boyd Malvo v. State of Maryland Court Appellate Court of Maryland Judge Ripken (Larry Hogan, 2021) Date Decided
California Supreme Court reaffirms the constitutional right to pretrial release, requiring prosecutors to prove the necessity of detention by clear and convincing evidence and forbidding boilerplate denial-of-bail orders.
On automatic appeal, the California Supreme Court unanimously affirms the convictions and death sentence of Cary Stayner for the 1999 Cedar Lodge murders of Carole Sund, her daughter Juli, and Silvina Pelosso. Justice Evans concurred and dissented in part.
Case In re: Criminal Investigation No. CID 18-2673 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City Court Supreme Court of Maryland
Case State of Maine v. Jacob Miller Court Maine Supreme Judicial Court Judge Douglas (Janet Mills, 2023) Date Decided April
Second District holds that Penal Code section 3051 youth offender parole hearings are constitutional as applied to forcible sex offenders sentenced under section 667.6’s full consecutive sentence scheme, finding that section 3051 did not improperly amend Proposition 83 (Jessica’s Law).
Second District rejects facial Second Amendment challenges to California’s prohibitions on assault weapons, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, and large-capacity magazines, holding that these regulations survive scrutiny under Heller, Bruen, and the common use test.
Case Crawford v. State Court Supreme Court of Georgia Judge BETHEL (Nathan Deal, 2018) Date Decided April 21, 2026 Docket
Case The State of Washington v. Samuel Leon Dugan Court Washington Court of Appeals, Division One Judge BOWMAN (Jay Inslee,
The California Supreme Court affirms the convictions and Bertsch’s death sentence in this 1985 kidnap-rape-murder case but reverses Hronis’s death sentence because of post-trial changes in the law governing a defendant’s mental competency to represent himself.
Case Shanoah Walcott v. Commissioner of Correction Court Connecticut Appellate Court Judge Seeley (Ned Lamont, 2022) Date Decided April 14,
The California Supreme Court reverses Omar Deen’s capital conviction and death sentence because the trial court failed to adequately examine whether a juror who had a personal connection to the murdered police chief harbored actual bias.