FANE LOZMAN, PETITIONER v. CITY OF RIVIERA BEACH, FLORIDA
Supreme Court of the United States, Kennedy, June 18, 2018,
First Amendment – Probable cause to arrest does not automatically defeat a retaliatory arrest lawsuit against a city if that city ordered the arrest as part of an “official plan to intimidate” the suspect for prior exercise of his First Amendment rights.

(Dissent – Thomas – Lack of probable cause should be an element of a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim)
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CHAVEZ-MEZA v. UNITED STATES
Supreme Court of the US, Breyer, June 18, 2018,
Sentencing – At re-sentencing and sentencing, a judge has not automatically failed to explain “the reason for imposing a sentence at a particular point” by using a standardized form stating that the judge has “considered” the defendant’s argument and “taken into account” the standard sentencing factors. Whether or not this is enough will depend on the facts of the case.

(Dissent- Kennedy with Sotomayor and Kagan – A standard form is not sufficient for the defendant to know why his request was denied or a particular sentence imposed)

ROSALES-MIRELES v. UNITED STATES
Supreme Court of the United States, Sotomayor, June 18, 2018,
Appeal – Miscalculation of sentencing guidelines may be considered as a plain error not requiring preservation

(Dissent – Thomas with Alito)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DARRA LEE SHEPHARD
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Diaz, June 15, 2018,
Sentencing (Federal) – Evidence that a victim has fallen for the same fraudulent scheme more than once can be used to show that the victim is “unusually vulnerable” for sentencing purposes

(Dissent – Wynn- )

MARICELA LEYVA MARTINEZ v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Traxler, June 15, 2018
Immigration – Maryland’s theft statute does not always qualify as a crime of moral turpitude for immigration purposes

(Dissent – Niemeyer – )

MINNESOTA VOTERS ALLIANCE v. JOE MANSKY
Supreme Court of the US, Roberts, June 14, 2018,
First Amendment – A Minnesota law banning “political apparel” within a polling place violates the First Amendment in that it is overly broad for the purpose it intends to serve

RHONDA L. HUTTON v. NATIONAL BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN OPTOMETRY, INC.
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, King, June 12, 2018,
Standing – Victims had standing to sue where data breach exposed their information which was subsequently used to open fraudulent credit card accounts and this was traceable back to the breach

ANTHONY GREENE v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Alpert, June 8, 2018,
CDS – The crime of CDS Possession does not require proof that the defendant did not have a prescription. Prescriptions are a defense, not an element of the crime.
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IN RE: S.K.
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Fader, June 5, 2018,
Child Pornography – A juvenile can be convicted of distribution of child pornography even if she is the subject of the pornography
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MAURICE MACK v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Wilner, June 5, 2018,
4th Amendment – An anonymous phone call that a car was being used for drug dealing did not justify officers immediately blocking it in without further evidence
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