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 Nebraska v. Keiandre T. Kellogg Court Nebraska Supreme Court Date Decided May 29, 2026 Docket No. S-25-310
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.