Snyder v. U.S.:  Federal corruption statute doesn’t prohibit “gratuities” to state and local officials

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender            The federal statute which prohibits state and local public officials from corruptly accepting anything of value with the intent to be influenced or rewarded for an official act […]

U.S. v. Rahimi:  Prohibiting persons with domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns doesn’t violate Second Amendment

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender            The federal statute which prohibits people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing a firearm if they are a “credible threat” to the safety of their partner […]

Gonzalez v. Trevino:  Fifth Circuit too narrowly applied “Nieves exception” to bar retaliatory arrest claim

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender            The Fifth Circuit too narrowly applied the “Nieves exception” to bar a retaliatory-arrest claim where the plaintiff was able to show objective evidence that similarly situated people were […]

Dep’t of State v. Munoz:  Constitution doesn’t require noncitizen spouses be admitted to U.S

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender            There is no constitutional right for a spouse to have their noncitizen-spouse admitted into the country, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 21 in Department of State v. […]

Erlinger v. U.S.:  Juries, not judges, must decide if prior convictions happened at separate times

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender            The Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial requires that juries, not judges, decide if prior convictions happened at separate times to trigger lengthier prison terms under the […]

Thornell v. Jones:  Federal courts cannot ignore weighty aggravating evidence in applying Strickland prejudice standard

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender            The Ninth Circuit improperly ignored the weight of aggravating evidence in finding that a death-sentenced defendant was prejudiced under Strickland’s standard for ineffective assistance of counsel, the U.S. […]

Pulsifer v. U.S.:  Supreme Court limits criminal-history “safety valve” relief under First Step Act

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender            A defendant seeking “safety valve” relief under the First Step Act for criminal history must not fall into any of the three listed ineligible categories, the U.S. Supreme […]

McElrath v. Georgia:  Double Jeopardy bars retrial after acquittal even if verdict is inconsistent with other verdicts

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender Double jeopardy bars retrial after a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity even if that verdict is inconsistent with other verdicts in the case, the U.S. Supreme […]

Wilkinson v. Garland:  Family hardship exception to cancellation of removal is reviewable by Court of Appeals

By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender            The family “hardship exception” to cancellation of removal of noncitizens is a mixed question of fact and law which is reviewable by the Court of Appeals, the U.S. […]

Another Supreme Court Decision Stopping Innocent People from Getting Their Day in Court w/Alison Guernsey and Meredith Esser

An unfortunate theme of the show is the reality that the Supreme Court is more than happy to close the doors of the courthouse to those who are factually or legally innocent. Preferring to uphold and support the concept of […]