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Lawyers, lawmakers ponder limits of GPS tracking ruling 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: May 22, 2012

Tags: Congress, Criminal Law, electronic monitoring, GPS, Supreme Court, U.S. v. Jones

WASHINGTON – Months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the police’s use of GPS tracking devices on suspects’ cars constitutes a search for Fourth Amendment purposes, law enforcement officials, defense lawyers and lawmakers are trying to define the limits of the ruling.

Benchmarks: 11th Circuit upholds identity theft conviction 

Published: May 22, 2012

Tags: identity theft

A Mexican woman stands convicted in the U.S. of aggravated identity theft, but contends there is a loophole in the federal statute that should allow her to get out of prison. Yesterday, the 11th Circuit dashed her hopes of freedom.

Confession shouldn’t have been suppressed 

Published: May 21, 2012

Tags: confession, Miranda, Missouri v. Seibert

A criminal defendant’s station house confession was not the product of an impermissible “two-stage” interrogation technique employed by police, the 2nd Circuit has ruled in reversing a suppression order.

Benchmarks: Should court have suppressed penile swab? 

Published: May 21, 2012

Tags: exigent circumstances, Fourth Amendment, penile swab, search and seizure

Does the potential loss or destruction of DNA evidence justify the warrantless collection of such evidence from a rape suspect’s private parts following his arrest?

A panel of California judges answered that question on Friday. If you were hoping for a straight yes or no answer, you’ll be disappointed.

Murdered child’s statements admissible 

Published: May 17, 2012

Tags: Confrontation Clause, Crawford v. Washington

A murder defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights were not violated by the admission at trial of statements that the child victim had made to a social worker, the 4th Circuit has ruled in affirming a conviction.

Satellite monitoring violated sex offender’s rights 

Published: May 15, 2012

Tags: due process, sex offender

A convicted sex offender’s due process rights were violated when she was subjected to lifetime satellite monitoring for a probation violation without a finding that she was likely to reoffend, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled in reversing judgment.

State expert could testify on delayed DUI test 

Published: May 14, 2012

Tags: drunk driving, expert testimony

The state should be permitted to offer expert testimony explaining retrograde extrapolation to establish that a DUI defendant’s blood alcohol content was over .08 at the time he was driving, the Oregon Supreme Court has ruled in reversing a pretrial order.

Illinois ban on recording police unenforceable 

Published: May 10, 2012

Tags: civil rights, First Amendment

Illinois prosecutors cannot enforce a state ban on individuals making nonconsensual audio recordings of police officers performing their duties because the statute probably violates the First Amendment, the 7th Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.

Protective sweep in domestic call was constitutional 

Published: May 7, 2012

Tags: Fourth Amendment, search and seizure

Police responding to a domestic violence call didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment when they conducted a protective search of the suspect’s home after securing his arrest outside and accounting for the safety of all his potential victims, the 4th Circuit has ruled in reversing a suppression order.

Lawyers await ‘Padilla’ retroactivity ruling 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: May 5, 2012

Tags: immigration, ineffective assistance of counsel, Padilla v. Kentucky, retroactivity, Sixth Amendment, Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that the Sixth Amendment requires criminal defense attorneys to warn non-citizen clients if a guilty plea carries a risk of deportation, the justices are poised to decide just how far back that constitutional protection extends.