LESLEY EUGENE WARREN v. EDWARD THOMAS
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Harris, July 10, 2018,
AEDPA- Death Penalty – State court decision was not unreasonable in holding that a jury instruction regarding the alternative of life imprisonment is only required if the prosecutor argues future dangerousness
FELICIA STROTHERS v. CITY OF LAUREL, MARYLAND
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Gregory, July 6, 2018,
Title VII – Employment Discrimination – Retaliatory Discharge – An employee fired the day after filing a memo complaining of employment discrimination has shown enough evidence of retaliation to avoid dismissal of the case
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JESUS ALEJANDRO CHAVEZ
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Wilkinson, July 2, 2018,
Searches – Cell site records legally obtained without a SSW prior to the Supreme Court’s Carpenter decision are allowed in evidence under the good faith exception
MARY ANNE SAUSE v. TIMOTHY J. BAUER
Supreme Court of the United States, Per Curiam, June 28, 2018,
First Amendment – An order by police for an individual to stop praying must be based on a “legitimate law enforcement justification”
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MICHAEL SEXTON v. NICHOLAS BEAUDREAUX
Supreme Court of the United States, Per Curiam, June 28, 2018,
Federal Habeas Corpus (AEDPA) – AEDPA did not allow a state conviction to be overturned by federal courts on the basis of witness identification where it was not unreasonable for the courts to believe that the identification was reliable
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RASHERD LEWIS v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Graeff, June 28, 2018,
Arrest – Odor of marijuana coming from an individual can provide probable cause to arrest that person
(Concur – Arthur – If I were writing on a blank slate, I would reverse the conviction.)
(Dissent – Nazarian – Robinson doesn’t require holding in this case)
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JANUS v. AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES COUNCIL
Supreme Court of the United States, Alito, June 27, 2018,
First Amendment – Unions – It is a violation of the First Amendment to compel public employees to subsidize private speech by paying dues to a union against their will
(Dissent – Sotomayor – )
(Dissent – Kagan with Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor )
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JOSE SANTOS GUZMAN GONZALEZ v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Wynn, June 27, 2018,
Immigration – A defendant has not been “convicted” for immigration purposes if judgment is withheld and only court costs are imposed with no actual sentence
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TRAVIS HOWELL v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals, Berger, June 27, 2018,
Duress- Duress is not a defense against criminal contempt of court if there is no imminent or immediate threat
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CHRISTIAN M. ALLMENDINGER
US Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit, Motz, June 26, 2018,
Post-Conviction – Failure to raise an almost certain winning issue on appeal can constitute ineffective assistance of counsel, even if the lawyer claims it was a tactical decision
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