Criminal Law

Findings from the California’s Racial & Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board’s Annual Report released earlier this month have sparked controversy after the results revealed that nonwhites […]

Suppose that Victor Victim was the victim of a non-fatal shooting. Law enforcement has charged Dan Defendant with the crime, but Victor is not enthusiastic about testifying against Dan and has not […]

In the scheme of impossible demands, the sex offender registry concept has more than its share. Much as there may be empathy for certain crimes and criminals, sex offenders remain pariahs as an […]

Before my son graduated from college, we talked about his job search. I, font of wisdom that I am, told him about what it was like when I was young. He, more attuned to the current world, told me […]

Over the holiday weekend, the Schaumburg police conducted their annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign. The enforcement campaign ran from December 16 to January 2. The […]

As there always are, there will be apologists who will try to explain away a murder. They didn’t mean to kill him, but only beat him to a pulp to show him who’s boss? He should have complied […]

When you get charged with a crime like assault in Colorado, you don’t simply have to accept the charges – you have the right to fight back. An assault conviction can affect the rest of your life, […]

Time for a new open thread. Is anyone besides me following the Genaro Garcia Luna trial in Brooklyn? Or the capture of Ovidio Guzman in Mexico? Or watching the new Season 8 of El Senor de los Cielos […]

The Associated Press reports here that “[f]ive fired Memphis police officers were charged Thursday with murder and other crimes in the killing of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days […]

A crowd gathered at Garage 16 on a cold January night in Mud Lick. The air was thick with the smell of booze and cigarettes, a change from the normal odors of oil and machinery. The crowd surrounded […]

Years ago, I came to the realization that calling my client “the defendant” rather than by his name fed into his dehumanization. He wasn’t a person, but a defendant. Similarly, I never called […]

The “Cite” of the Crime Podcast CASE SUMMARIES Federal 11th Circuit Criminal Case Law Update (January 16, 2023 – January 20, 2023 ) Continue reading

On November 14, 1996 Alan Peterson, a Southern California contractor, was leaving a Jack in the Box with his lunch when 16-year-old gang member Lawrence Cottle shot him in the chest while attempting […]

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on January 17, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free […]

As Judge Peter Kubota ordered the shackles removed from Ian Schweitzer, who served 23 years for a murder and sexual assault DNA evidence showed he likely didn’t commit, perhaps the foremost reason […]

If a pipeline owned by Dow Chemical or Chevron had leaked toxins that caused the death of 1,000 Americans in a single year, the entire force of the U.S. Government would have descended upon them, […]

In State v. McLymore, 380 N.C. 185, 868 S.E.2d 67 (2022), our Supreme Court held that Section 14‑51.3 “supplants the common law on all aspects of the law of self-defense addressed by its […]

The question posed to the original three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit was whether the state of Washington could prohibit a licensed therapist, Brian Tingley, from advising his patient under the […]

In the late 1980s roughly one-third of serious and violent crimes in the U.S. were committed by juveniles under the age of 18.   In the eight years between 1986 and 1994 the number of violent […]

The law that governs the use of nontestimonial identification procedures in delinquency matters is markedly different than the law that governs use of these same procedures in criminal matters. The […]

When the NCAA was compelled to allow college athletes to enjoy million dollar sponsorships for their name, image and endorsement, many applauded that the students would finally be allowed to partake […]

The “Cite” of the Crime Podcast CASE SUMMARIES Florida Criminal Law Update (January 16, 2023 – January 20, 2023) Continue reading

In response to the opioid crisis, North Carolina passed several protections designed to alleviate some of the legal liability surrounding drug use in the interest of harm reduction and public health. […]

While I’m sure they exist, I can’t imagine a parent who believes that someone else, someone at school, would make better choices for their child than they would. Yet, parents believe that […]

When Joshua Browder came up with the idea for DoNotPay, a chatbot to walk defendants through the basic handling of parking tickets, it had its merits. After all, many defendants were unable to afford […]

In a recent Texas criminal case, the State petitioned the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas after a ruling from the Eleventh Court of Appeals found that the Appellant in a criminal case was entitled […]

In order to protect elderly persons and dependent adults, the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act was expanded at the beginning of this year. Specifically, the Act was broadened to […]

The new year gives people time to start fresh and focus on goals for the next 12 months. However, charges from the last few moments of the previous year can follow you into the new – especially […]

The “Cite” of the Crime Podcast CASE SUMMARIES Federal 11th Circuit Criminal Case Law Update Continue reading

The lead story in our December 9 news roundup was the Moore County power outage that resulted from the shooting of two local power substations. This week, several news outlets reported that another […]

The District Attorney’s office in Santa Fe has concluded its investigation into the shooting death that occurred during the filming of the movie “Rust”. Alec Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah […]

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on December 29, 2022. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]

The “Cite” of the Crime Podcast CASE SUMMARIES Florida Criminal Law Update (January 9, 2023 – January 13, 2023) Continue reading

Here is a very worthwhile event, available online at the Heritage Foundation. Barry Latzer and Rafael Mangual will speak on the topic above at noon EST on Thursday, January 26. We have quoted both […]

A story by Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times reports that traffic deaths in the city have hit a two-decade high.  More than half of the deaths involved vehicles hitting pedestrians or people on […]

January recognizes the importance of knowing about human trafficking. The President has declared January Human Trafficking Prevention Month (see the proclamation here). The North Carolina Governor […]

This post summarizes criminal and related decisions published by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during December 2022. Cases of interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous […]

Everywhere you go, it seems like you simply can’t get away from hearing about Fentanyl. This drug has caused significant problems in the United States and Colorado, and it’s hazardous if it’s […]

Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley’s recent piece, “The Economic and Human Costs of Protecting Criminals,” breaks down the impact of progressive sentencing reforms enacted across the […]

Self-defense is one of the common affirmative defenses raised in the criminal justice system. As previously discussed in this blog, it permits a defendant to use force in order to prevent harm […]

In a recent Texas drug case, the defendant appealed the trial court decision, arguing that his conviction was the result of law enforcement violating his Fourth Amendment rights, evidence that should […]

The laws that impact your immigration status are sometimes a complex web traversing multiple areas of law. So, you may wonder, what happens if a criminal statute is amended and that change alters the […]

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has denied a condemned murderer’s request to have his spiritual advisor with him in the death chamber during his execution Thursday.  Sean Murphy of the […]

Former CFO of Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, age 75, who has worked for the company since the days of Fred Trump, was sentenced today to 5 months at Rikers. He was taken into custody after […]

You may have watched the popular reality TV series “To Catch a Predator” which aired from 2004-2008. In that series, law enforcement would set up adult men who thought they had arranged a tryst […]

As the debate over gun control continues to rage in the United States, citizens who own guns struggle to keep up with the changing political landscape, and changing laws. The questions are endless. […]

Can You Drive After a DUI? Under the best of circumstances, getting pulled over by a law enforcement officer is a giant headache that can ruin a perfectly good day. If you consumed alcohol prior to […]

Even in states like Colorado that have decriminalized many drugs in specific amounts, drug convictions can haunt you for years. Whenever anyone does a background check on you for a new job, housing, […]

Sometimes in life, you try out for something and don’t get it. Sometimes, you get up and try again. And maybe even a third time. But when you fail at something as many times as Kevin McCarthy has […]

Rick Singer, the Pied Piper behind “Varsity Blues”, the Government investigation into rich parents paying Singer , his company and even athletic coaches at colleges for tricks to ensure their kids […]