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Why did Reginald Lett’s lawyer not object to the judge’s mistrial declaration?
Bill of Rights (From public domain.) Early on, trial lawyers are taught to “know your judge” and your jury. As a consequence, decisions whether to proceed to trial or settle a criminal or civil case require considering the potential judges and jurors who will sit at...
When is offsite criminal activity sufficient to permit a warrant to search one’s home?
Bill of Rights. (From the public domain.) Search warrants of people’s homes often are issued as a result of alleged criminal activity that takes place far from the suspect’s home. When is alleged offsite criminal activity sufficient to permit a warrant to search one’s home? In such...
More on Padilla
Following up on my earlier post today on Padilla, I sent the following to a few local criminal defense listservs: Yesterday’s Padilla decision is destined to change the landscape for the better of how criminal defense lawyers and judges address immigration issues. Here are a...
Interviewed on Voice of America’s Chinese edition
Last week the Voice of America’s Chinese edition interviewed me for its story on the Westboro Baptist Church case that has been granted certiorari review in the Supreme Court. I defended WBC at trial, and am not currently involved with the appeal. Nevertheless, I took...
Urging hearsay limits on speed calculations
Image from National Institute of Standards & Technology. Particularly now that Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 129 S.Ct. 2527 (2009), has become firmly entrenched in the Constitutional landscape, Sixth Amendment challenges to machine-based speed calculations should be more persuasive than ever when the people who calibrated the machine do...
When judges rule 6-5 on a defendant’s offer to take a breathalyzer test
Image from National Institute of Standards & Technology. An officer arrested a man for DWI on private property, and was not sure whether he would mention the possibility of taking a breathalyzer test, not knowing whether Virginia’s implied consent law for taking a breathalyzer test...
Challenging NCIC Information can be a Matter of Life or Death
Prosecutors commonly obtain National Crime Information Center (“NCIC”) reports of defendants’ criminal records. A colleague recently pointed out the unfairness of judges rejecting attacks on NCIC reports, because he asserts that the FBI, which runs the NCIC, disclaims responsibility for accuracy in NCIC reports. Certainly,...
In Virginia, no stems, no seeds that you don’t need?
Image from public domain. In Virginia, so long as one-half ounce or less is involved, distribution and possession with intent to distribute marijuana is only punishable as a misdemeanor rather than as a felony. Va. Code § 18.2-248.1. What happens, then, if the police catch...
Scrutinize confidential informants with a fine-toothed comb
Read enough search warrant applications, and "CI" (confidential informant) will rear its head again and again. Praised be Virginia’s Court of Appeals (albeit by only 2-1) for reversing a conviction that resulted from a so-called reliable confidential informant’s tip that the defendant was about to...
The federal sentencing guidelines may not bind judges
Today, the Fourth Circuit revisited Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) and Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338 (2007), in ordering a resentencing where a sentencing judge "stated that while it did not agree with the Guidelines range, it was ‘obligated’ to give...