Case Blog: State v. Hayes

A perfect example of why it is very important to know your elements and how they apply in your case. A11-1314        State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Christopher James Hayes, Appellant. Hennepin County. 1.   To commit the criminal offense...

Case Blog: Ferguson v. State

Just another showing that the world of Post-Conviction Relief is difficult.  It is always better to make every effort to get everything right the first time. A12-0310        Jermaine Ferguson, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota,...

Case Blog: Johnson v. Williams

Yet another opinion from the SCt, this time addressing a situation that is fairly solid in civil law (at least I remember studying something similar way back in law school).  It’s unfortunate that the State doesn’t need to expressly address the...

Case Blog: Henderson v. United States

The Supreme Court is on a roll with criminal decisions this week.  Here is the latest and greatest: Henderson v. United States (6-3 Opinion by Justice Breyer on February 20, 2013. Dissent by Justice Scalia with Justices Thomas and Alito...

Case Blog: Evans v. Michigan

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...

Case Blog: Chaidez v. United States

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...