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.
Sixth District holds that the probation department, not the trial court, decides eligibility for Penal Code section 1000.7’s young adult deferred entry of judgment pilot program and rejects separation of powers and abuse of discretion challenges to a denial based on out-of-county residence.
Fourth District holds that Penal Code section 29820’s firearm prohibition for certain juvenile wards until age 30 is facially constitutional under both the Second Amendment Bruen framework and the Due Process Clause.
Fifth District holds that Penal Code section 292’s definitions of ‘acts of violence’ and ‘great bodily harm’ are constitutional under California Constitution article I, section 12, and that a no-bail order in a serious child sexual abuse case was supported by clear and
Second District grants writ of mandate, holding that an indigent petitioner under California’s Racial Justice Act must show only a ‘plausible allegation’ of a violation to obtain counsel — not a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief — and may amend his petition to meet that
Fourth District affirms a Gun Violence Restraining Order against a father whose adult son with a documented mental-health history threatened a mass shooting at a local high school, holding the order survives Second Amendment, vagueness, and overbreadth challenges.
Fourth District reverses a second-degree-murder conviction, holding that statements obtained from a defendant during an undercover Perkins operation were inadmissible under Miranda because the suspect had invoked his right to counsel and a known law-enforcement officer continued to ‘stimulate&
Second District reverses convictions of former UCLA gynecologic oncologist James Heaps, holding the trial court’s ex parte communications with the jury through a judicial assistant — without notifying counsel — deprived defendant of counsel at a critical stage and the prosecution failed to pro
The California Supreme Court holds that a small amount of loose marijuana scattered on a car floor is not an open container under state law and does not give police probable cause to search the vehicle.