NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FAMILY AND LIFE ADVOCATES v. XAVIER BECERRA
Supreme Court of the United States, Thomas, June 26, 2018,
First Amendment – A State statute requiring anti-abortion pregnancy centers to advertise the availability of abortion services was a violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
(Concur – Kennedy with Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch –
(Dissent – Breyer with Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan –
Continue reading
BRIAN TATE v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Greene, June 25, 2018,
Guilty Plea – Daughtry does not apply in the post-conviction context
Continue reading
ROBERT WHEELER v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Hotten, June 25, 2018,
Chain of Custody – CDS- Where a member of the chain of custody is unavailable after a request under CJP 10-1003, the state need only prove “a reasonable probability that no tampering occurred.”
Affirming COSA Opinion
(Concur – Watts with Adkins – Review should be for abuse of discretion in a CJP 10-1002/1003 case)
Continue reading
TIMOTHY IVORY CARPENTER v. UNITED STATES
Supreme Court of the United States, Roberts, June 22, 2018,
Search – Police aggregation of Third-Party information about a suspect’s movement over a one-week period required a search warrant
(Dissent – Kennedy with Thomas and Alito – Third-party doctrine should control; no search)
(Dissent – Thomas – “Whose property was searched”? Should be the operative question)
(Dissent – Alito with Thomas – “the Court destabilizes long-established Fourth Amendment doctrine”)
(Dissent – Gorsuch – New test needed)
Continue reading
MICHAEL NELSON CURRIER v. VIRGINIA
Supreme Court of the United States, Gorsuch, June 22, 2018,
Double Jeopardy – A defendant who agrees to have his charges tried separately cannot then argue that Double Jeopardy bars the other trials
Continue reading
LEE BOYD MALVO v. RANDALL MATHENA
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Niemeyer, June 21, 2018,
Sentencing – Juveniles – Sentencing a juvenile to life without parole can only be done in a homicide case and only after considering whether the juvenile is permanently incorrigible. This constitutional rule is not limited to mandatory sentences.
Continue reading
WILLIAM LOUIS KRANZ v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Barbera, June 21, 2018,
Post-Conviction – The limitation to file a post-conviction under the UPPA is determined at the time that it is filed, not the time that it is heard or appealed.
Continue reading
ALBERT OTTO v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Hotten, June 21, 2018,
Doctrine of Completeness – After the State introduced jail call recordings of the defendant trying to get a witness to change her story, the defendant was not allowed to introduce irrelevant portions of the jail calls under the doctrine of completeness where they did not help “complete” the jury’s understanding of the recordings that were introduced.
(Judgment Only – Watts)
Continue reading
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. EDWARD JOSEPH KEHOE
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Motz, June 20, 2018,
Reasonable Suspicion – The mere fact that a person of one race is present among a group that is predominantly of another race does not provide a basis of suspicion of criminal activity
Continue reading
DAMON WILSON v. PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Keenan, June 18, 2018,
Excessive Force – It is excessive force for an officer to shoot a misdemeanor suspect standing 20 feet away who is stabbing himself with a small knife after slitting his own throat and not threatening anyone else.
Continue reading