The Eighth District reversed the dismissal of a felony OVI enhancement, holding that the defendant failed to make a prima facie showing that a prior uncounseled conviction was constitutionally infirm where signed written waivers documented a knowing waiver of counsel.
The Fourth District conditionally reverses gang murder convictions, finding the trial court applied the wrong legal standards when denying Racial Justice Act motions and discovery requests based on the prosecution’s introduction of a rap song at trial.
The Ninth Circuit reverses summary judgment for prison officials who denied a California prisoner prescription transitional lenses based on a blanket policy rather than individualized medical judgment, finding triable Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference issues.
The Ninth District reversed a zoning conviction because the trial court failed to conduct an adequate inquiry before accepting the defendant’s waiver of counsel, holding that the brief colloquy was insufficient given the complexity of the zoning regulatory scheme.
The Ninth District dismissed the State’s appeal of a trial court’s refusal to compel witness testimony, holding that R.C. 2945.44 requires full transactional immunity and that the State’s offer excluding murder was insufficient to compel testimony over a Fifth Amendment invocation.
The Third District reversed eight of nine rape convictions involving a minor victim, holding that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to distinguish each count as a separate act, while affirming convictions on one rape count and two gross sexual imposition counts.
The Third District affirmed a conviction under R.C. 4511.204, Ohio’s distracted driving statute, rejecting constitutional challenges based on equal protection, due process, and vagueness, and holding that holding a phone for GPS navigation while driving violates the statute.
The Eleventh District reversed and remanded for resentencing, holding that the trial court violated the defendant’s right of allocution by repeatedly interrupting her personal statement and preventing her from reading it herself, particularly where the court then penalized her perceived lack of remorse.
The Twelfth District reversed the trial court’s denial of a noncitizen defendant’s motion to withdraw his no-contest plea, holding that the court was required to apply the Strickland two-prong test when the motion was premised on counsel’s failure to advise of immigration consequences under Padilla v. Kentucky.
California appellate court rules that defendants must be allowed to argue aggravating sentencing factors to a jury, reversing an upper-term firearm enhancement where the trial court denied closing argument on those factors.
The Ninth Circuit held that hash-value matches between a suspect’s files and known child pornography can establish probable cause for a search warrant without agents first downloading and visually confirming the files.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed denial of “Shrimp Boy” Chow’s habeas petition, finding his defense team’s strategic decisions did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel despite acknowledged shortcomings in trial performance.
California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal upholds lifetime sex offender registration for offenders convicted of lewd acts with minors under Penal Code section 288(c)(1), rejecting an equal protection challenge comparing them to section 288(a) offenders who face shorter registration periods.
Case State of Ohio v. Isaac Jovonni, 2026-Ohio-1889 Court Ohio Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District, Montgomery County Judge MARY
The Ninth Circuit held that courts may not include departures when calculating the amended guideline range in sentence reduction proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), making defendants whose original sentences fell below the amended range ineligible for reductions.
Case Phun Kam v. The State Court Supreme Court of Georgia Judge LAND (Brian Kemp, 2025) Date Decided May 19,
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,