In a unanimous decision, the United State Supreme Court has ruled that a judge’s participation in a plea negotiation does not constitute a reversible error, given the language in the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(h), which stipulates that “a variance from this rule is harmless error if it does not affect substantial rights”. In […]
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The Supreme Court has issued a ruling on a defendant’s right to remain silent that directly impacts how prosecutors may use that silence as evidence in trial. In Salinas v. Texas, the court ruled that if an individual is voluntarily speaking to the police in a pre-arrest situation, and refuses to answer a specific question, […]
The Supreme Court has overturned a Ninth Circuit Court ruling regarding the imposition of the Armed Criminal Career Act (“ACCA”) on a defendant with prior “violent felonies”. In its decision, the lower court had deemed it appropriate for the sentencing judge to go back to the guilty plea proceedings in a previous case; the Supreme […]
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S Supreme Court held that a defendant may not be sentenced under guidelines put in place after the crime was committed. In Peugh v. United States, the petitioner was convicted in federal court on five counts of bank fraud committed between 1999 and 2000, but was sentenced based on the […]
In a potential blow to the Fourth Amendment right to privacy, and in what some are calling “a stunning victory for law enforcement”, the United States Supreme Court decided 5-4 to overturn a lower court decision in Maryland v. King, thereby allowing police to collect a DNA sample at the time of arrest. Proponents argue […]
By David Lindsey Attorney of David Lindsey, Attorney at Law posted in Federal Sentencing Law on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. A hidden result of the inmate-phone industry is widespread discrimination in federal sentencing law, because the rates effectively disallow phone calls between inmates and their families who cannot afford the exorbitant price of a phone […]
By David Lindsey Attorney of David Lindsey, Attorney at Law posted in Criminal Defense on Friday, October 5, 2012. A recently published study in the Journal of Neuroscience may affect the witness cross-examination by criminal defense teams at trial; it calls into question the validity of witness recall, citing research that demonstrates the way brain […]
By David Lindsey Attorney of David Lindsey, Attorney at Law posted in Search and Seizure on Thursday, September 27, 2012. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has issued new search and seizure guidelines for police officers conducting a warrantless search of vehicles after making a lawful arrest. Denver Criminal Law Attorney The court has […]
By David Lindsey Attorney of David Lindsey, Attorney at Law posted in Computer Crimes on Monday, September 24, 2012. In the first arrest under a new computer crime law governing online impersonation, a twelve year old and thirteen year old from Granbury, Texas are facing a felony charge after fabricating a Facebook page under the […]
By David Lindsey Attorney of David Lindsey, Attorney at Law posted in Sex Crimes on Thursday, July 12, 2012. A prosecution expert in sex crimes made false claims about his assessment of a Texas man’s alleged sexual assault of a young relative, leading to a 20-year sentence for that crime. https://www.mdavidlindsey.com/Practice-Areas/Crimes-Involving-Illegal-Sexual-Conduct.shtml In a unanimous ruling, […]
