Sexton v Beaudreaux

The Supreme Court, in Sexton v. Beaudreaux, issued June 28, again chastised the Ninth Circuit for not giving sufficient deference to state court rulings on federal habeas review.             Nicholas Beaudreaux claimed his trial counsel had been ineffective in […]

Currier v Virginia: Not so straightfoward

Currier v. Virginia:  Defendant who consented to severance cannot claim double jeopardy bars the second trial after the first trial ended in acquittal, but plurality raises questions about issue preclusion             A defendant who requests severance of his charges […]

Supreme Court Decides Federal Sentencing Guidelines Cases

When is a sentence “based on” a Guidelines range so as to require resentencing when the range is lowered?             In Koons v. United States, decided June 4, the Court held that where defendants were sentenced below a mandatory […]

Collins v. Virginia: Police cannot enter curtilage of home to search vehicle without a warrant

The Fourth Amendment prohibits police from entering the curtilage of a home to search a vehicle without a warrant, the U.S. Supreme Court held May 29 in Collins v. Virginia.   The Court rejected the claim that the “automobile exception” […]

Lagos v. United States: Mandatory Victims Restitution Act does not require defendants to reimburse victims for expenses incurred in private investigations or civil proceedings

The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA) does not require defendants to reimburse victims for expenses incurred in private investigations or civil proceedings arising out of the criminal offense, the U.S. Supreme Court held May 29 in Lagos v. United States. […]

U.S. v. Sanchez-Gomez: Challenge to pretrial shackling policy became moot in individual criminal cases once those cases were concluded

Individual criminal defendants’ claims that a pretrial shackling policy was unconstitutional became moot when the defendants’ criminal cases were concluded, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled May 14 in U.S. v. Sanchez-Gomez.    The defendants’ claims were not saved from mootness […]

Dahda v. United States: Supreme Court explains when wiretap orders are “insufficient on their face”

Even though an order for a wiretap under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act contained a presumptively-invalid authorization to tap phones outside the territorial jurisdiction of the authorizing judge, the order was not “insufficient on its face” with […]

McCoy v. Louisiana: Defense counsel cannot concede client’s guilt against client’s wishes

The Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel precludes defense attorneys from conceding their clients’ guilt against the clients’ wishes, the U.S. Supreme Court held May 14 in McCoy v. Louisiana.    The ruling potentially limits other concessions defense […]

Byrd v. U.S.: Non-authorized drivers may have reasonable expectation of privacy in rental car

Drivers may have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a rental car, even though the rental agreement did not authorize them to drive the car, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled May 14 in Byrd v. United States.   Terrance Byrd […]

Murphy v. Smith: Prison Litigation Reform Act requires that prevailing prisoners pay 25% of their judgments toward their attorney’s fees

When prisoners win civil rights cases for unconstitutional conditions in prison, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires that 25|PERCENT| of the judgment be used to pay their attorney’s fees before the defendants can be required to pay any excess attorney’s […]