A typographical error in a date of an occurence in the affidavit for search warrant for the year (2013 instead of 2014) could be overlooked in context of the affidavit as a whole which showed it a mere typo. Commonwealth … Continue reading →
PA: Date typo in affidavit for SW could be corrected in context of totality
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LA3: Ping order for def’s cell phone was based on exigency
The police ping request to locate defendant’s phone to locate him was based on clear exigent circumstances. Thus, it did not violate the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2702(c)(4). State v. Malveaux, 2018 La. App. LEXIS 1082 (La. App. … Continue reading →
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CA6: New evidence in civil case to impeach officers’ prior suppression hearing testimony isn’t ground for a successor 2255
2255 petitioner filed a successor petition alleging that a civil case he filed developed impeachment material that would undermine the original probable cause finding. This isn’t new evidence of innocence for a successor petition. In re Mohammed, 2018 U.S. App. … Continue reading →
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PA Supreme Court Finds Autopsy Reports Testimonial under Confrontation Clause
Philadelphia Criminal Defense Attorney Zak Goldstein The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Brown, holding that autopsy reports are testimonial and therefore may not be introduced at trial unless the witness who prepared the report testifies. In this case, however, the court found that the improper admission of the autopsy report was harmless error, so the defendant did not receive a new trial.The Facts of Commonwealth v. Brown In Brown, the defendant attended a party on Stanley Street in Philadelphia. Before arriving at the party, he hid a gun in the wheel well of a nearby parked car. The defendant argued with someone during the party, and his co-defendant then retrieved the gun from the car and gave it to the defendant. The defendant shot the person with whom he was arguing four times, killing him. A doctor with the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy…
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Lamenting how federal supervised release operates and suggesting reforms
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Single Vehicle Crash Westbound State Highway 33 West of Rexburg
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idaho State Police District 6 1540 Foote Dr. Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402-1828 (208) 525-7377 FAX: (208) 525-7294 For Immediate Release: 6/2/18 10:35 a.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On Friday June 1, 2018, at approximately 2:00 p.m., the Idaho State Police investigated a single vehicle crash on westbound State Highway 33 near milepost 77, west of Rexburg. Moises Munoz, 71, of Corona, California, was driving westbound on State Highway 33 in a 2018 Penske truck pulling a trailer. Munoz's trailer fishtailed, went off the roadway, jackknifed and struck a power pole. Munoz was wearing a seatbelt. The road was blocked for approximately two hours. Idaho State Police was assisted by Madison County Sheriff?s Office. 4055 / 3641 -------------
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Crashes Block Interstate 84 in Nampa
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 06/02/2018 at 10:33 a.m. Please direct questions to the District Office The Idaho State Police is currently investigating two crashes westbound Interstate 84 at milepost 36, the Franklin exit. The left lane of travel is blocked. 3725 / 4039 -------------
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Update - Crashes Block Interstate 84 in Nampa
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 06/02/2018 at 11:35 a.m. Please direct questions to the District Office *****Update***** The left lane of travel is no longer blocked. 3725 *****End of Update***** The Idaho State Police is currently investigating two crashes westbound Interstate 84 at milepost 36, the Franklin exit. The left lane of travel is blocked. 3725 / 4039 -------------
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Too full rural jails; missing interrogation recording can't be used as 'sword' against defendant; and other stories
Here are a few odds and ends of which Grits readers should be aware:Youthful offenders get new home, program at TDCJThe federal Prison Rape Elimination Act created special requirements for housing youth under 18 away from older inmates. After a sexual incident at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Youthful Offender Program that forced its from-scratch overhaul, the firing of the warden and most staff, and moving the program to an entirely different unit, it becomes more obvious why. Lauren McGaughy at the Dallas News has a report from the new unit housing the program.TJJD safer with fewer inmates, director saysAccording to this letter to Governor Abbott from Texas Juvenile Justice Department Executive Director Camille Cain, " I am happy to report that we have already seen progress on several fronts. For example, the population in our secure facilities has dropped to historic lows, from 1,026 youth in December 2017 to 879 today. At the same time, we have…
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Appeals Court: Sex Offender’s Failure to Disclose Social Media Account is “not a crime”
Under the Sex Offender Registration Act, all registered sex offenders must tell the state about all “internet accounts with internet access providers” and “internet identifiers that such offender uses.” Does that mean you have to disclose your social media accounts? Most police and the the State Division of Criminal Justice Services would have said yes. Police agencies routinely scour the internet looking for sex offenders who are on social media but have not properly disclosed their presence. People always thought that was a felony failure to register under Corrections Law Sec. 168-t. Turns out it is not. Continue reading → The post Appeals Court: Sex Offender’s Failure to Disclose Social Media Account is “not a crime” appeared first on What's New.
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Why Leniency is Needed for Juvenile Sex Offenders
Did you know that one third of all child sex abuse is performed by kids in their early teens — usually boys up to 15 years old? Did you also know that just 2-3 percent are likely to be convicted of a second offense? These statistics show why leniency is needed for juvenile sex offenders. In fact, child sex crimes researcher Elizabeth Letourneau concludes that today’s laws poorly reflect the true nature of many child sex offenses and do little to prevent future child sex abuse. Letourneau is Director of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, the venerable research institution in Baltimore, MD. She concludes that current laws — sparked by emotion more than reason after public outrage over highly publicized sex crimes — unfairly punish children who instead need supervision and intervention. Overreaching child sex crime laws include a provision added to 2006’s…
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"Pardon System Needs Fixing, Advocates Say, but They Cringe at Trump’s Approach"
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Update 2- Crashes Block Interstate 84 in Nampa
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 06/02/2018 at 3:00 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office *****Update***** On June 2, 2018, at 9:57 a.m., the Idaho State Police investigated two injury crashes westbound Interstate 84 at milepost 36, the Franklin exit in Nampa. The first crash involved a black Jeep Wrangler that was driving westbound and tried to merge into the left lane. A juvenile driving a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt tried to avoid the Jeep Wrangler. They lost control of their vehicle, crashed into the barrier on the median side, and came to rest blocking the middle lane. The Jeep Wrangler left the scene of the crash. If anyone has any information on the Jeep Wrangler, please contact the Idaho…
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Fatality Crash Near Melba
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 6/02/2018 3:17 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On June 2nd, 2018, at approximately 5:43 a.m., Idaho State Police investigated a two-vehicle fatality crash eastbound on Big Foot Road, near Melba. Tomas Munoz Gomez, 35, of Melba, was driving eastbound on Big Foot Road on a Honda motorcycle not equipped with lights. Edgar Almanza, 36, of Nampa, was driving eastbound on Big Foot Road in a Dodge Charger. Almanza struck the rear of the motorcycle and Gomez was ejected. Gomez succumbed to his injuries at the scene. Gomez was not wearing a helmet and Almanza was wearing a seat belt. Next of kin have been notified. The crash is under investigation by Idaho…
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Fatality Crash East of Weiser
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 06/02/2018 at 3:15 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On June 2, 2018, at 6:32 a.m., the Idaho State Police investigated a single vehicle fatality crash on Crane Road, 20 miles east of Weiser. Cheyenne Wiggins, 18, of Payette, was driving eastbound on Crane Road, 20 miles east of Weiser, in a 2005 Dodge pickup. Wiggins lost control of the vehicle, went off the roadway, and rolled. Wiggins' passenger, Sarah Johnson, 24, of Payette, was ejected from the vehicle. Johnson succumbed to her injuries at the scene of the crash. Notification to family has been made. Wiggins, Johnson, and another passenger, Samual Hunt, 31, of Payette, were not wearing…
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Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Procedure eJournal
are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Paper Downloads 1. The Scale of Misdemeanor Justice Megan T. Stevenson and Sandra G. Mayson George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School, Faculty and University of Georgia School of Law Date Posted:...
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Texas Death Row Inmate Entitled to Mental Health Investigation
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a lower appellate court should reconsider the request of Carlos Ayestas, a Texas death row inmate, for money to fully investigate his mental health issues. Information about a defendant’s mental and physical health normally is shared with jurors before they decide whether execution is an appropriate sanction. Public funds are available for low-income defendants in criminal cases to hire experts and investigators as needed. Despite Ayestas’ claims of schizophrenia, drug addiction, and brain injuries, however, his trial lawyers did not request funding for an expert or an investigator, and presented only one witness, a teacher at the Harris County Jail who described Ayestas as a serious and attentive student. On appeal, Ayestas’ new lawyers sought public funds for a mitigation specialist, or an expert that could look into Ayestas’ mental health and medical history and provide evidence of any relevant conditions to…
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Addiction and the Practice of Law
Why are some defense attorneys so expensive? Willie Nelson has a great answer to a similar question: Why is divorce so expensive? Because it’s worth it. Several decades ago, my friend was the best criminal defense attorney in Orlando–charging $15,000 down on a misdemeanor. In today’s dollars, that would be $43,447. Yikes. Who throws around that kind of money on a misdemeanor? And/or, who has the balls to charge that much for a misdemeanor? That being said, a Hermes Birka bag will set you back $65,000. Yes, a purse for $65,000. If you were to try to go buy one now–you can’t. Settle down. They pretend to be sold out even though the store always has a couple new ones in the back. A story for another day, yet the pricing strategy is similar to my friend’s pricing strategy–except that my friend was worth every penny. Ok, back to my very expensive defense attorney friend. A…
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Short Take: The New Nuthouse
People of a certain age remember well the revelations by the former Legal Aid lawyer, turned then-respected journalist, Geraldo Rivera, of Willowbrook State School. It was horrifying to see how children were being treated in institutions, and gave flight to a movement to end state abuse of the mentally ill and intellectually challenged. It was not only an affront to their humanity, but the state couldn’t be trusted to care for them humanely. The institutions were closed. The inmates (as they weren’t patients) released. The buildings and land sold off. A few years later, people started to wonder where all the homeless people came from. It became commonplace for criminal defense lawyers to see serious issues with their clients, who clearly were suffering from some sort of deficit.* We fixed the problem of terrible institutions by creating the problem of the mentally ill on the street or in the prisons. So the New York Times has come to the rescue. When President Trump…
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DE: Nexus applies to vehicles; no showing car was involved in drugs, and no automatic search of drug def’s car
There must be nexus to search a drug defendant’s car. There is no automatic right to search it without some indication the car was involved in drugs. State v. Valentin, 2018 Del. Super. LEXIS 236 (May 29, 2018): Even under … Continue reading →
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