United States v. Ridley-Thomas — Ninth Circuit affirms Los Angeles bribery convictions
The Ninth Circuit upheld Mark Ridley-Thomas’s bribery and honest-services convictions based on an indirect $100,000 benefit for his son.
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Constitutional
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Hall — SJC requires Rule 30 route for conviction-based habeas claims
The Massachusetts SJC held that conviction-based constitutional claims must proceed under Rule 30 and remain subject to the § 33E gatekeeper process.
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United States v. Turbe — Third Circuit affirmed marijuana-distribution sentence, finding no reliance on bare arrests
Case United States of America v. Gregory Turbe Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Judge Krause (Barack
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People v. Eads — Vacated a youthful offender’s unconstitutional 50-to-75-year murder sentence
Case People of the State of Michigan v. James Gregory Eads Court Michigan Supreme Court Judge Kimberly A. Thomas (elected
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State v. Black — Court preserves Heath definition of genital opening
The Utah Court of Appeals declined to overrule State v. Heath and affirmed object-rape and sexual-abuse convictions against evidentiary and due-process challenges.
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Nunez v. State — Court reaffirms relation-back rule for post-conviction amendments
The Utah Supreme Court reaffirmed that amended post-conviction claims must satisfy rule 15(c)’s relation-back standard and upheld the PCRA’s one-year deadline.
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Adams v. Robison — Court denies extraordinary relief from DUI plea ruling
The Utah Supreme Court held that a DUI defendant properly invoked extraordinary-writ review but denied relief because the requested constitutional ruling was unlikely to change his prosecution.
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Duncan v. State — Court Defines Explicit Sexual Conduct and Upholds Sentence
The Wyoming Supreme Court held that digital penetration and use of a sexual device qualify as explicit sexual conduct under the child-exploitation statute and upheld an aggregate 21-to-30-year sentence.
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People v. Sanmiguel — Courts must scrutinize demeanor-based reasons for juror strikes
California’s high court clarified how judges must evaluate demeanor-based explanations for peremptory juror strikes under section 231.7.
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Thompson v. Superior Court — Mental-health diversion may include rehabilitative search conditions
Trial courts may impose reasonable, rehabilitation-focused conditions when granting pretrial mental-health diversion.
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Commonwealth v. Holbrook — Superior Court upholds prolonged traffic stop and consent search
The Superior Court held that multiple observations supplied reasonable suspicion to extend a traffic stop for a dog sniff and that the driver voluntarily consented to an interior search.
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Greaves — Appeals Court suppresses backpack search
The Massachusetts Appeals Court held that police could not open a soft backpack without evidence that an exterior patfrisk would be futile or unsafe.
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State v. Wooden — affirmed murder convictions and denial of suppression motions
Case State of Ohio v. John W. Wooden Court Ohio Court of Appeals, Tenth District Judge Leland (appointment info not
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Orange v. Commonwealth — upheld Virginia’s firearm ban as applied to a person convicted of forgery
Case Rebecca Sue Orange v. Commonwealth of Virginia Court Court of Appeals of Virginia Judge Stuart A. Raphael (elected 2021)
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Ratliff v. State — Affirmed denial of post-conviction relief over counsel’s handling of confession instruction
Case Larry D. Ratliff v. State of Missouri Court Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District Judge Gary D. Witt (appointment
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State v. Butler — Missouri court affirms domestic assault conviction, upholds persistent offender sentencing scheme
Case STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent, v. MICHAEL LEROY BUTLER, Appellant. Court Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District Judge Lisa White
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People v. Carrillo — gang expert’s race-related testimony did not violate the Racial Justice Act
Race-related gang testimony tied to the evidence did not itself violate the Racial Justice Act, though counsel must timely preserve an RJA claim.
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State Of Louisiana v. Savell — Louisiana appeals court denies request to reinstate appellate rights after valid guilty plea
Case State Of Louisiana v. Brittney M. Savell Court Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit Judge Penzato (appointment info not
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State v. Feagin — Vacated guilty-plea convictions because the trial court omitted required constitutional-rights warnings
Case State of Ohio v. Charles R. Feagin Court Ohio Court of Appeals, Fifth Appellate District Judge Robert G. Montgomery
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State v. Reno — Louisiana appellate court denies supervisory writ due to procedural defects and untimely postconviction relief application
Case State Of Louisiana v. Raymond F. Reno Court Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit Judge Penzato (appointment info not
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People v. Vasquez — Sealed Informant Affidavit and Pre-Search Detention Did Not Require Suppression
The Court of Appeal upheld a firearm search because sealed review supported the warrant and the evidence derived independently from any disputed pre-search detention.
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United States v. Anten — Federal Threat Statute Requires Objective Threat and Subjective Fault
The Ninth Circuit held that the federal interstate-threat statute requires both an objectively threatening communication and a culpable subjective mental state.
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Glenn — Wyoming Supreme Court Upholds Bicycle Stop and Enforces Conditional-Plea Limits
The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld a bicycle stop based on an objectively reasonable factual mistake and refused to review issues not specifically preserved in a conditional plea.
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State v. McLemore — Nebraska Supreme Court affirms dismissal of fourth postconviction motion as outside the Act’s scope and procedurally barred.
Case State of Nebraska, appellee, v. Michael E. McLemore, appellant. Court Nebraska Supreme Court Judge Funke, C.J. (appointment info not