Utah v. Strieff: Legalizing Illegal Stops

It used to be a basic tenet of American Constitutional jurisprudence that if police illegally stop an individual and find some incriminating evidence on him, the evidence must be suppressed, that is, it cannot be used as evidence to prove […]

Supreme Court Issues Decisions on Juvenile Life without Parole, the Death Penalty, and State Procedural Bars to Federal Habeas

The U.S. Supreme Court issued three recent brief decisions of interest to public defenders.    Miller & Montgomery fallout   In Adams v. Alabama, the Court, on May 23, vacated and remanded for reconsideration in light of Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. […]

Supreme Court Issues Decisions on Batson, Deportation of Persons Convicted of Crimes, Speedy Sentencing, Conspiracy, and AEDPA Deference

The U.S. Supreme Court issued five decisions through mid-May of importance to public defenders.   Batson  In a widely-publicized decision, Foster v. Chatman, decided May 23, the Court held that Georgia prosecutors violated Batson by, among other reasons, making notes in their file that […]

SCOTUS Decisions on Johnson retroactivity, plain error under the federal sentencing guidelines, SORNA, and AEDPA Deference

The U.S. Supreme Court in April issued four decisions of interest to public defenders.  JOHNSON RETROACTIVE In Welch v. United States, decided April 18, the Court held that its decision striking down the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act […]

Brady, Child Pornography Enhancement, the Second Amendment, and the Right to Counsel of Choice

The U.S. Supreme Court last month decided four relatively little-noticed cases involving Brady, sentencing enhancement under the federal child pornography statute, the right to possess stun guns, and the ability of prosecutors to freeze assets needed to hire counsel. Brady lives! In […]

Montgomery v. Louisiana: Miller’s Ban on Mandatory Life without Parole for Juvenile Homicide Offenders is Retroactive

The prohibition on mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles convicted of homicide offenses announced in Miller v. Alabama (2012) is a substantive rule that applies retroactively in state collateral review proceedings, the U.S. Supreme Court held Jan. 25. The […]

Musacchio v. United States

Even though a jury instruction contains an extra element, sufficiency of the evidence should be assessed only against the statutory elements of the charged crime, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Jan. 25 in Musacchio v. United States. The Court ruled in […]

Kansas v. Carr — Capital jurors need not be instructed on burden of proof for mitigating circumstances; severance from co-defendant’s penalty phase not required

The Eighth Amendment does not require that jurors in death penalty cases be instructed that mitigating circumstances need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Jan. 20 in Kansas v. Carr.  The Court also ruled that […]

Hurst v. Florida – “A Jury, not judge, must make findings required to impose death sentence

The Sixth Amendment requires that a jury, not a judge, find each fact necessary to impose a death sentence, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Jan. 12 in Hurst v. Florida.  The Court struck down Florida’s capital sentencing scheme which authorized an […]

Supreme Court issues brief decisions on filing fees for prisoners and ineffective assistance of counsel

The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires that prisoners pay a percentage filing fee on a simultaneous, “per case” basis, rather than in sequential installments, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Jan. 12, in Bruce v. Samuels.             The Act, 28 U.S.C. Sec. […]