Constitution mandates reduction of crack cocaine sentences 
Published: May 24, 2013
Tags: crack cocaine, Fair Sentencing Act, sentencing disparity
Equal protection requires granting two crack cocaine defendants retroactive relief from racially discriminatory mandatory minimum sentences imposed on them in 2005, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing judgment.
Suspect’s wife validly consented to warrantless search
Published: May 24, 2013
Tags: consent search, Fourth Amendment, Georgia v. Randolph, search and seizure, search incident to arrest
A suspect’s decision to remain silent behind a locked bedroom door did not amount to an objection that would override his wife’s consent to a warrantless search of the premises by police, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled in reversing a suppression order.
Police needed warrant to search arrestee’s cellphone
Published: May 21, 2013
Tags: cellphone, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure, search incident to arrest
Police needed a warrant to search the contents of a cellphone seized from a defendant arrested for suspected drug dealing, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a conviction.
Justices won’t let Mich. defendant reargue diminished capacity
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: May 20, 2013
Tags: Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, diminished capacity, habeas corpus, U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a Michigan murder defendant’s due process rights were not violated when a change in state law following his 1994 conviction prevented him from reasserting a diminished-capacity defense when he later won a new trial.
Justices to decide if co-tenant’s consent to search overrides prior objection
Published: May 20, 2013
Tags: consent search, Fourth Amendment, Georgia v. Randolph, search and seizure, U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a tenant who previously objected to a warrantless search of an apartment must be personally present and objecting to prevent a search when police officers later ask a co-tenant for consent to search.
Probation term allowed search of girlfriend’s purse
Published: May 16, 2013
Tags: Fourth Amendment, probation, search and seizure
Police conducting a probation search of an apartment could examine the contents of a purse belonging to the probationer’s girlfriend, the California Court of Appeal has ruled in affirming a drug conviction.
Hearsay rule didn’t bar admission of cellphone records
Published: May 15, 2013
Tags: business records exception, cellphone records, evidence, hearsay
A call spreadsheet evidencing a robbery defendant’s cellphone communications was admissible at trial under the business records exception to the hearsay rule, the California Court of Appeal has ruled in affirming a conviction.
Juvenile’s parole restrictions not ‘cruel and unusual’
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: cruel and unusual punishment, Eighth Amendment, juvenile sentencing, parole
The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment did not require the deletion of parole restrictions on consecutive sentences that cumulatively exceeded a juvenile defendant’s life expectancy, the Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled in reversing judgment.
Court-appointed psychotherapist needn’t report child abuse
Published: May 13, 2013
Tags: child abuse reporting, juveniles, psychotherapist-patient privilege
A psychotherapist sought by the defense in a juvenile proceeding was not required to comply with a state law requiring the reporting of child abuse to authorities, the California Court Appeal has ruled in reversing judgment.
Government’s destruction of evidence warranted jury instruction
Published: May 9, 2013
Tags: bad faith, destruction of evidence, due process, jury instructions
A drug defendant was not required to show bad faith in order to be entitled to an adverse-inference jury instruction as a remedy for the government’s destruction of evidence, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in granting a new trial.
