Case Antonio Williams v. The State Court Supreme Court of Georgia Judge MCMILLIAN (Brian Kemp, 2020) Date Decided June 2,
The Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed a murder conviction obtained at retrial after a Brady violation, holding that dismissal of an indictment is available only where the violation causes irreparable prejudice or reflects a pattern of egregious prosecutorial misconduct—neither of which was present here where retrial gave the defense full opportunity to cross-examine the affected witness on the undisclosed agreement. The court also held that a Brady violation alone does not disqualify the prosecutor’s entire office.
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals reversed and dismissed a disorderly conduct conviction against a citizen who filmed a police officer at a fast-food drive-through and called him “a piece of s***” twice, holding the evidence was insufficient and that the trial court improperly instructed the jury on an uncharged mode of the offense.
Connecticut Appellate Court affirms denial of a second habeas petition, holding that trial counsel’s failure to raise a Crawford Confrontation Clause objection at a 2008 murder trial was not deficient when the law was unsettled, and habeas counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise a sentence review claim the petitioner never communicated.
The Tenth District affirmed the constitutionality of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2) as applied to a defendant whose prior juvenile adjudication for felonious assault served as the predicate disability, finding historical support under the Bruen framework.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed armed robbery convictions, holding that a witness’s text messages to law enforcement were admissible as identification statements, booking photos showing tattoos were properly admitted to prove identity, and trial counsel was not ineffective.
The Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, reverses a district court that ended a $1.1 million civil forfeiture case as a discovery sanction, holding that the claimant established standing and gave the government enough information to investigate his ownership claim.
The Ninth Circuit reverses the denial of qualified immunity for a Gardena jail officer whose detainee committed suicide, finding that inconsistent information about the detainee’s suicide risk did not put the officer on clear constitutional notice—over a vigorous dissent.
The Twelfth District affirmed a community control condition that effectively barred the defendant from his residence, finding the restriction was reasonably related to preventing future criminal conduct given the defendant’s history of altercations with neighbors.
The Twelfth District affirmed a murder conviction arising from a shooting during a domestic dispute, holding that the trial court properly admitted the defendant’s prior violent acts as character evidence under Evid.R. 404(A) and that the State’s grant of immunity to a key witness did not render her testimony unreliable.
The California Supreme Court affirms a double gang-murder defendant’s convictions but reverses his 1994 death sentence under the retroactive California Racial Justice Act of 2020, requiring a new penalty-phase trial in a case that has been on automatic appeal for over three decades.
The California Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the death sentence of a Los Angeles father convicted of the torture-murders of two young children, holding that months of deliberate beatings, starvation, and medical neglect provided sufficient evidence of premeditated torturous intent, and that con
The California Supreme Court reverses a death-row defendant’s convictions entirely because his attorney conceded guilt over the client’s explicit objection — a structural constitutional error requiring automatic reversal — while affirming the co-defendant’s death sentence and vacat
The California Supreme Court affirms a death sentence for the 1999 rape-murder of an Oakland 11-year-old, holding that a suspect who voluntarily accompanies police to the station and is briefly placed in a lockable interview room has not been seized under the Fourth Amendment — and clarifying when v
Case State of West Virginia ex rel. State of West Virginia v. The Honorable Debra McLaughlin, Judge of the Circuit
Case State of Nebraska v. Keiandre T. Kellogg Court Nebraska Supreme Court Judge Freudenberg (Pete Ricketts, 2018) Date Decided May
The Sixth District affirmed a 13-to-16.5-year prison sentence for attempted RICO, burglary, and related offenses, holding that the trial court did not violate the defendant’s right to allocution by refusing a mid-hearing request to consult with counsel and that burglary and attempted grand theft of a motor vehicle are not allied offenses of similar import.
The Fifth District affirmed convictions for gross sexual imposition against a minor, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by ruling a child victim incompetent to testify without an in-person hearing and that the Confrontation Clause does not guarantee the right to comment on a witness’s absence at trial.
The Ninth District partially reversed a criminal trespass conviction, holding that a represented defendant’s pro se motions did not toll the statutory speedy trial clock and remanding for a determination of whether the State violated the 45-day time limit.
The Ninth District affirmed a domestic violence conviction, holding that the trial court’s failure to advise the defendant of his right to a jury trial and right to remain silent at arraignment was not prejudicial where the defendant later knowingly waived a jury trial through written motion.
The Ninth District reversed the suppression of OVI evidence, holding that a state trooper’s observations of slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and the odor of alcohol during a valid traffic stop gave rise to reasonable suspicion to expand the stop into an OVI investigation.
The Second District affirms a 14-year UPWF sentence after a shooting, rejecting the necessity defense where the defendant advanced toward the victim and refusing to disturb the within-range sentence.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed drug and firearm convictions, holding that a free-air dog sniff conducted while a traffic citation was still being prepared did not unlawfully prolong the stop under the Fourth Amendment.
The Eighth District reversed the juvenile court’s denial of mandatory bindover, holding that a juvenile’s own recorded confession admitting he ‘put a gun on’ a victim established probable cause for the firearm display element without requiring victim testimony.