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
The Ninth Circuit held that a California conviction for assault with a firearm under Penal Code § 245(a)(2) is not a deportable aggravated felony, vacating a removal order and signaling that thousands of similarly situated non-citizens may have grounds for relief.
Case State of Idaho v. Jessica Anne Vazquez Court Idaho Supreme Court Date Decided May 29, 2026 Docket No. 53369
Case State of Nebraska v. Keiandre T. Kellogg Court Nebraska Supreme Court Date Decided May 29, 2026 Docket No. S-25-310
Case In the Matter of Disciplinary Proceedings Against Jerome J. Babiak, Attorney at Law; Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Jerome
The Second District affirmed a 48-month aggregate prison sentence for gross sexual imposition and attempted corrupting another with drugs, holding the trial court did not err in imposing prison despite the victim, family, and psychosexual evaluator all recommending treatment.
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 Fifth District affirms that a proffer meeting constituted a plea discussion under Rule 402, limiting the State’s use of the defendant’s statement to impeachment only if he testifies inconsistently.
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.
Case State of Maine v. Trevor Averill Court Maine Supreme Judicial Court Date Decided May 28, 2026 Docket No. And-25-127
Case Joseph Anthony Zattoni a/k/a Joseph A. Zattoni a/k/a Joseph Zattoni v. State of Mississippi Court Mississippi Supreme Court Date
The Eighth District affirmed individual maximum sentences for a jewelry store burglary but remanded for resentencing because the trial court failed to make the disproportionality finding required for consecutive sentences under R.C. 2929.14(C)(4).
The Fifth District affirmed a felonious assault conviction arising from an attack at a juvenile correctional facility, holding that inconsistent verdicts between co-defendants do not invalidate a guilty verdict and that the evidence supported a finding of serious physical harm.
The Tenth District reversed a community-control sanction imposed on a defendant who vandalized the Brutus Buckeye statue, finding the trial court failed to hold the required violation hearings and denied the defendant his right to allocution.
The First District holds that a circuit court must grant a certificate of innocence when a petitioner has obtained postconviction relief on an actual-innocence claim and the State has dismissed all charges.
The First District reverses the denial of compassionate release for a prisoner whose severe medical deterioration — complete loss of lower extremity function, fused spine, and incontinence — made any realistic possibility of future harm impossible.
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.