Supreme Court
Virginia cops have only narrow exceptions for warrantless home entry
Virginia cops and other police nationwide are aware of the concept of a community caretaking function, which they and prosecutors try to use in the absence of any other possible justifiable grounds for searching and seizing people and their property, and for entering their homes....
Split on Supreme Court on capital cases – Virginia criminal lawyer
Split 5-4 capital punishment decisions will keep arising with the Supreme Court's hardcore death penalty greenlighters (Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch), the usual remaining members of that five (Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh) and the four more "liberal" justices who at least question the...
Capital defendants are humans – Treat them with dignity
Capital punishment in the United States has proceeded somewhat away from an arbitrary and capricious system that previously allowed judges rather than juries to decide a death sentence, and for people to be executed for crimes other than murder. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I...
Kavanaugh is a divisive Supreme Court pick – Fairfax criminal lawyer
Kavanaugh is an inevitable result of Trump's election as president. He is the tip of the iceberg of Trump's appointing scores of federal judges who will serve lifetime appointments outlasting his presidency by many years, says Fairfax criminal lawyer Jon Katz
Virginia criminal defense- Cases for challenging searches after a traffic stop
When I started doing criminal defense in 1991, I was reminded that drug cases often are won or lost by whether the drugs get suppressed. Seeking suppression of physical evidence is important in any criminal case alleging possession of contraband, and beyond, which is why...
SCOTUS- For double jeopardy, a criminal defendant has burden to show an acquittal happened
In Bravo-Fernandez v. U.S., ___ U.S. ___ (Nov. 29, 2016), the jury returned inconsistent verdicts of conviction and acquittal under separate counts of the same statute. Bravo-Fernandez got his conviction overturned on appeal due to erroneous jury instructions, therefor enabling a retrial.
SCOTUS bars capital sentencing recommendations from victims’ families
Today's Bosse decision is more monumental than might first meet the eye. The United States Supreme Court has at least three justices that are very friendly to preserving the death penalty.
Judges are not here to fix lapses and loopholes of statute writers
Being human, judges might feel inclined to fix lapses and loopholes left by statute writers. Judges must resist any such temptation. Lapses by statute writers stay in the laps of statute writers, and judges have no business fixing the oversights and mistakes of statute writers,...
Justice Scalia’s death underlines the implications of your vote for president
I never wanted Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. He gave with one hand to civil liberties with some of his votes and opinions on Fourth, Fifth (due process in sentencing), and Sixth (Confrontation Clause) Amendment rights for criminal defendants, but took away much...
SCOTUS strengthens giving retroactive effect to its procedural opinions benefitting criminal defendants
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court gave retrospective effect to Miller v. Alabama, 567 U. S. ___ (2012), which prohibits mandatory, versus discretionary, life without parole sentences for those who committed crimes while under eighteen years old.