by sitewild | Feb 23, 2013 | Uncategorized
Here is an interesting decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. Double Jeopardy applies if the Judge grants a directed verdict of acquittal for an element the prosecution failed to prove, that it didn’t have to prove. That’s an interesting way of...
by sitewild | Feb 22, 2013 | Uncategorized
Not a big surprise on this one. I think it was fairly unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court was going to hold that Padilla (the case holding that defense attorneys must inform their clients of possible deportation) would be retroactive. There are too many...
by sitewild | Feb 21, 2013 | Uncategorized
Here is a recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. It looks like everybody makes mistakes, even drug-detection dogs. Good news for the police, even if the dog is wrong, you can use that for probable cause. Bad news for citizens, if the dog is wrong,...
by sitewild | Feb 20, 2013 | Uncategorized
Here is another U.S. Supreme Court opinion, discussing the limits on detention when executing a search warrant. Yeah, you can detain someone when executing a search warrant. But you can’t go get them and detain them. Bailey v. United States, (6-3...
by sitewild | Jan 10, 2013 | Uncategorized
Recent opinion by the Supreme Court this week. Smith v. United States (9-0, Opinion by Justice Scalia, on January 9, 2013) Summary: Justice Scalia, delivering the unanimous opinion of the Court, affirmed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for...