ANDREW KISELA v. AMY HUGHES
Supreme Court of the United States, Per Curiam, April 2, 2018,
Qualified Immunity – Excessive Force – An officer was entitled to qualified immunity where no clearly established law at the time required officers to refrain from using deadly force against a woman who was armed with a large knife; was within striking distance of the victim; ignored the officers’ orders to drop the weapon; and the situation unfolded in less than a minute.

(Dissent – Sotomayor with Ginsburg – I think my feelings should override existing precedent and need no expert to point out the fallacy in my opinion that someone with a knife at her side is not dangerous)
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. COREY FLEAMON TOWNSEND
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Shedd, March 30, 2018,
ACCA – North Carolina crime of Assault with a Deadly Weapon With Intent to Kill is a violent felony under the force clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)
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EDWARD DORSEY ELLIS ROLLINS, III v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Berger, March 29, 2018,
Indecent Exposure – Indecent exposure does not require that anyone be “shocked or offended” by the act
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CURTIS MAURICE LOPEZ v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Getty, March 29, 2018,
Sentencing – Victim Impact – Prepared victim-impact evidence must meet one of the categories set out in CP 11-402(e), though live victim-impact testimony at sentencing is not similarly limited.
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TODD MICHAEL SCRIBER v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Graeff, March 29, 2018,
Child Sex Abuse – A teacher taking pictures focusing on the buttocks of a fully clothed female student bending over at the waist qualified as sexual exploitation of a minor
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ADNAN SYED v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Woodward, March 29, 2018,
IAC – Trial counsel is ineffective where they are given specific information about an alibi witness and fail to contact that witness

(Dissent – Graeff – The trial attorney already had the information she needed to make a decision, so not ineffective to confirm what she already knew)

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. GERALD ADRIAN WHEELER
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Thacker, March 28, 2018,
Habeas Corpus – A prisoner may properly file a writ of habeas corpus if a retroactive change in the law, occurring after the time for direct appeal and the filing of his first habeas motion, meant that his mandatory minimum sentence was improperly increased and he now has no other way to correct the problem.
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MARK STUART LANDERSMAN
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Thacker, March 28, 2018,
Unlawful conversion of government funds – The fact that faulty suppressors were priced in line with functional suppressors nevertheless constituted fraud when obtained in violation of Navy procurement regulations to enrich the brother of a Navy official

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O’BRIEN ATKINSON, IV v. ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Leahy, March 28, 2018,
AA County Charter – Anne-Arundel County Council violated their County Charter by removing healthcare insurance benefits from collective bargaining by public-safety employees
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ISA MANUEL SANTIAGO v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Getty, March 27, 2018,
Evidence- Pre-Arrest Silence – Evidence of a defendant’s decision not to give a statement to his insurance company about how his car was stolen could be used against the defendant at trial as evidence of consciousness of guilt
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