Patel v. Garland: Courts cannot review factual findings denying discretionary relief from removal of noncitizens

Federal courts cannot review factual findings that underlie a denial of discretionary relief from removal of noncitizens, the U.S. Supreme Court held May 16 in Patel v. Garland.   Pankajkumar Patel entered the U.S. illegally in the 1990s.  In 2007, he applied […]

Thompson v. Clark: Malicious prosecution claim does not require showing prior prosecution was dismissed due to innocence

A plaintiff alleging a claim for malicious prosecution need only show his prior prosecution ended without a conviction, in order to satisfy the favorable termination element for such claims, the U.S. Supreme Court held April 4 in Thompson v. Clark.   […]

Brown v. Davenport: Federal habeas petitioners must satisfy both prejudice tests under Brecht and AEDPA

Federal habeas petitioners must satisfy the prejudice tests in both Brecht and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act in order to obtain relief, the U.S. Supreme Court held April 21 Brown v. Davenport. Satisfying just one test is not enough. […]

Wooden v. U.S.: Multiple convictions from single criminal episode do not trigger enhancement under ACCA

Multiple convictions arising from a single criminal episode do not trigger enhanced penalties under the Armed Career Criminal Act because the convictions did not occur on separate “occasions,” the U.S. Supreme Court ruled March 7 in Wooden v. United States.   […]

Greer v. U.S.: Court sets standard for plain error relief under Rehaif

People seeking plain error relief for “Rehaif claims” must show they did not know they were convicted felons and that there is a reasonable probability the result of their proceedings would have been different, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 14 […]

Van Buren v. U.S.: Using computer database for improper purpose does not violate Computer Fraud and Abuse Act if person had lawful access to database

Even though a police officer used a computer database to which he had access for an improper purpose, this did not violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 3 in Van Buren v. United States. […]

U.S. v. Palomar-Santiago: All three prongs of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1326(d) must be met to attack prior removal

A defendant seeking to attack a prior order of removal must satisfy all three prongs of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1326(d), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled May 24 in United States v. Polomar-Santiago.   In 1998, Refugio Palomar-Santiago was removed from the […]

Edwards v. Vannoy: New criminal procedural rules will never be retroactive on federal collateral review; unanimous-jury holding not retroactive

New criminal procedural rules will never be retroactive on federal collateral review, the U.S. Supreme Court held May 17 in Edwards v. Vannoy.   The Court rejected retroactive application of last year’s holding that Louisiana and Oregon juries must be unanimous […]

Caniglia v. Strom: Community caretaking doctrine does not apply to searches of residences

There is no “community caretaking” doctrine that permits police to conduct warrantless searches and seizures in a home, the U.S. Supreme Court held May 27 in Caniglia v. Strom.    Police were called to Edward Caniglia’s home because he was reported […]

Niz-Chavez v. Garland: Immigration Act requires all statutory information be in a single notice-to-appear document for stop-time rule to apply

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act requires that a notice to appear contain all statutorily-required information in a single document in order for the “stop time” rule for continuance presence in the country to apply, the U.S. Supreme […]