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Sixth Circuit Overules Judge For 99% Sentencing Reduction
Michael Peppel, a former CEO of MCSi Inc., who pleaded guilty to a scheme that ultimately led to the bankruptcy of his company, was facing 10 years in prison for his criminal activity. The trial court...
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Trial Begins in NYC as Plaintiffs Attack Police Stop-and-Frisk Practices
By Jay Perry The trial of a class action suit challenging the “stop and frisk” procedures of the New York Police Department began today in a New York District Court. The case, Floyd v. City...
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Sixth Circuit Hears Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Appeal From Lillelid...
The recently decided Sixth Circuit case of Howell v. Hodge began in 1997 when Karen Howell and five of her friends set off from Pikeville, Kentucky to New Orleans. At the time, Howell was only...
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Tennessee Supreme Court Excuses Prisoner's Failure to Meet Post-Conviction...
By Stevie PhillipsIn 2003, prisoner Artis Whitehead tried to rob BB King's Blues Club on Beale Street in downtown Memphis. He was convicted of a variety of offenses surrounding the incident. The TN...
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Sixth Circuit Vacates Sentencing Enhancement Based On Defendant False...
This recent Sixth Circuit case has it roots in a 1999 conviction of Kwame Williams, a Trinidadian who was arrested in New York on a gun charge and deported. Williams eventually reentered the country...
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Tennessee Supreme Court Says Community Caretaking Not An Excuse For Police...
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently issued an important opinion, State of Tennessee v. James David Moats, which upheld a ruling out of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The opinion threw out the...
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Sixth Circuit Says Girlfriend’s Spotty Information Reliable Enough To Support...
The Sixth Circuit recently released a ruling in a case, U.S. v. Charles Arthur Kinison, involved a man, Mr. Kinison, who began to affiliate with a group of pedophiles in Georgia that sought to adopt...
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NY Times Publishes Interesting Article on Death Penalty Statistics
The NY Times, on April 5th, published an article focusing on the death penalty and its enforcement in the 32 states that still observe it. It is no secret that the death penalty is enforced in an odd...
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Sixth Circuit Permits Warrantless Search In Tennessee Case
The case, U.S. v. Kevin Patrick Daws, involves sheriff’s deputies in Henderson County, Tennessee who conducted a warrantless search of Kevin Daws’ home based on a public safety issue. The question was...
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Supreme Court agrees that warrantless DUI blood draw illegal, but still...
The Supreme Court has released its opinion in Missouri v. McNeely. This is a case about a Missouri officer's decision to conduct a warrantless blood draw in a DUI arrest. Unfortunately, the four...
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What does it take to prove a defendant's possession of drugs in his...
By Stevie Phillips In State v. Robinson, police had staked out the co-defendant's house after receiving a tip from a confidential informant. The defendant was seen leaving the co-defendant's house on...
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Interesting Sixth Circuit Opinion regarding Miranda Rights And Public Safety...
An interesting opinion, especially in light of the recent Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent arrest, is the Sixth Circuit case of U.S. v. Hodge. In Hodge, a suspect’s home was raided by police and...
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Sixth Circuit Discusses Validity Of Search Warrant That Lacked An Address
This case began in 2008 when the Cincinnati Police were tipped off that a man named Kenneth Rose had sexually abused three minors. The police met with all three children who told authorities about...
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NTSB Pushes States To Lower Legal Alcohol Limit
The National Transportation Safety Board took a surprising step earlier this week when it recommended that the all states, including Tennessee, lower the threshold for what constitutes impaired...
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Sixth Circuit Tackles Electronic Filing Typos
Everyone who does enough paperwork has surely made a mistake at some point. The wrong key was entered or the wrong box was checked. Thankfully, most typos are harmless and can either be quickly...
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Sixth Circuit Allows Crack Cocaine Defendants To Be Resentenced In Light Of...
In an important recent decision, U.S. v. Blewett, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Fair Sentencing Act should apply retroactively. The Court decided that to continue to uphold the...
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Sixth Circuit Discusses Requirements For Probable Cause
An anonymous informant notified police about the presence of cocaine in Sidney Brown’s house and a search warrant was subsequently issued. When the police arrived, warrant in hand, they found the...
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Problems Raised By NTSB Blood Alcohol Recommendation
The National Transportation Safety Board recently issued a new recommendation that asks all states to agree to lower the legal threshold for impairment for driving from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent....
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Supreme Court Issues Important Decision Regarding DNA Collection
A divided Supreme Court issued an important opinion today, Maryland v. King, saying that police are allowed to routinely take DNA from those suspects they arrest without first securing a warrant. The...
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Supreme Court Supports Defendants Seeking To Raise Ineffective Assistance Of...
In a recent 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court decided Trevina v. Thaler to extend a ruling it made last year which allowed prisoners to challenge their state convictions in federal court based on the...
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New Law Requires Ignition Interlock Devices After Tennessee DUI Convictions
A new law signed by Governor Haslam will require first-time DUI offenders to install an Ignition Interlock Device in order to drive on a restricted license during the year their license is revoked.An...
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Supreme Court Says It’s Unconstitutional To Use New And Harsher Sentencing...
On Monday a closely divided Supreme Court issued another important criminal law decision on 5-4 lines. This time the Court held that the Constitution is violated when courts rely on current federal...
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Silence speaks volumes: Supreme Court issues ruling in Salinas v. Texas
By Jay PerryThe Supreme Court issued a ruling today, in Salinas v. Texas, a case discussed earlier here. The decision, a 5-4 ruling held that a suspect must expressly invoke their 5th Amendment...
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Supreme Court Orders Judges To Stay Away From Fact Finding Regarding...
The Supreme Court issued an important criminal decision this week, Alleyne v. United States, when it said that a jury should have the final say on what triggers mandatory minimum sentences in criminal...
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Supreme Court Upholds Trial Court’s Dismissal of DUI Charges After Video of...
This was posted today on the TN Courts website. The Tennessee Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, today upheld a trial court’s dismissal of DUI and other charges against a McMinnville woman because...
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