Court dismisses ineffective counsel case 
Published: April 29, 2013
Tags: dismissal, improvidentally granted, indigent defense, Sixth Amendment, U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – After taking up and hearing arguments in a case considering whether a delay caused by a state’s failure to fund counsel for an indigent’s defense should be a factor in determining whether the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial was violated, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case as improvidently granted.
Criminal defense counsel has final say on witnesses
Published: April 16, 2013
Tags: murder, right to counsel, Sixth Amendment, witnesses
A murder defendant was not denied a fair trial when he was prohibited from calling a witness that his lawyer had decided not to call, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled in affirming a conviction.
CRIMINAL
Published: March 18, 2013
Tags: right to counsel, Sixth Amendment
Does a criminal defendant have a constitutional right to a pretrial hearing to challenge the viability of the charges against him when a restraining order has frozen the assets he needs to retain his counsel of choice?
Court to look at counsel right when assets frozen
Published: March 18, 2013
Tags: right to counsel, Sixth Amendment
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether criminal defendants have a constitutional right to a pretrial hearing to challenge the viability of the charges against them when a restraining order has frozen the assets they need to retain their counsel of choice.
Supreme Court takes up sentencing factors case
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: January 14, 2013
Tags: Apprendi v. New Jersey, Criminal Law, judicial discretion, jury trial, Sixth Amendment, U.S.
WASHINGTON – In a case that raises the question of whether judges, rather than juries, can constitutionally decide factors that could trigger an increase in the minimum sentence, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed reluctant to shake up a sentencing scheme that Congress and the courts have relied upon for more than a decade.
Cell phone records inadmissible in murder trial
Published: December 11, 2012
Tags: Confrontation Clause, Crawford v. Washington, hearsay, Sixth Amendment
A murder defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights were violated by the admission of incriminating cell phone records without proper authentication, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled.
Breath test records admissible against DUI defendant
Published: November 15, 2012
Tags: Confrontation Clause, Crawford v. Washington, drunk driving, Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, Sixth Amendment
A DUI defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights were not violated by the admission of the certificate of calibration for the breath test machine used to determine the level of alcohol in his system, the Kansas Supreme Court has ruled in affirming judgment.
Supreme Court questions if ‘Padilla’ ruling goes retro
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: November 1, 2012
Tags: ineffective assistance of counsel, Padilla v. Kentucky, retroactivity, Sixth Amendment, U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – The issue of whether criminal defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to be warned of the immigration consequences of guilty pleas, as established by a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, is retroactive was front and center during oral arguments on Thursday.
State’s expert could testify about autopsy records
Published: October 18, 2012
Tags: Confrontation Clause, Crawford v. Washington, Sixth Amendment
A murder defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights were not violated by the testimony of a pathologist who expressed opinions based on an autopsy report prepared by another doctor who did not testify, the California Supreme Court has ruled in reinstating a conviction.
Prosecution expert could testify regarding lab report
Published: October 17, 2012
Tags: Confrontation Clause, Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, Sixth Amendment
A defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights were not violated by the admission of a prosecution expert’s testimony regarding a lab report that was prepared by a nontestifying technician, the California Supreme Court has ruled in reinstating a conviction.
