On July 21, 2014, Arizona convicted murderer John Rudolph Woods became the fourth condemned inmate this year to die in a “botched” lethal injection execution in this country. He spent 90 minutes gasping for air every 10 seconds or so,…
2014
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On July 21, 2014, Arizona convicted murderer John Rudolph Woods became the fourth condemned inmate this year to die in a “botched” lethal injection execution in this country. He spent 90 minutes gasping for air every 10 seconds or so,…
Category: Federal Criminal Law
Courts generally consider the evidentiary power of confessions to be uniquely persuasive of guilt. In 1991, the U.S. Supreme Court Arizona v. Fulminante found that a confession is unlike any other evidence, saying “the defendant’s own confession is probably the…
Category: Drug Crime | Federal Criminal Law
In January 2012 the Texas Department of Public Safety realized it had a major problem with one of its employees—a forensic scientist named Jonathan Salvador who had been employed with the agency for six years. He was assigned to the…
Category: Drug Crime | Federal Criminal Law
It has been hailed by privacy rights activists and legal scholars as the most significant U.S. Supreme Court decision in the “digital age.” The decision was handed down on June 25 in the case David Leon Riley v. California. The…
Category: Federal Criminal Law
Let it be said that Samuel Volpendesto led an interesting, albeit controversial, life. He was a war hero earning a box full of medals, including a coveted Bronze Star. In 1945, during World War II, he volunteered to swim into…
Category: Drug Crime | Federal Criminal Law
PRESENCE OF “NARCO SAINT” LEADS TO DRUG CONVICTIONS
At the turn of the 20th century, Jesus Malverde was a Mexican bandit who roamed the hills of the state of Sinaloa, and as legend has it, stole from the rich…
Category: Federal Criminal Law
In a forceful per curiam decision handed down on May 5, 2014, the U.S.
Supreme Court overturned a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Robert R. Tolan—a budding African-American professional baseball player who…
Category: Federal Criminal Law
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller held that the Second Amendment codified a “pre-existing” right that allows individuals to keep and bear arms. The court specifically found that the right to self-defense is undeniable…
Category: Federal Criminal Law
Generally the Forth Amendment allows brief investigative stops,Terry stops, only when there exists a particular and objective basis for suspecting criminal activity.
In 1990, in Alabama v. White, the U.S. Supreme Court discussed the weight an “anonymous tip” should…
Category: Federal Criminal Law | Sex Crimes
In recent years people who were victimized as children by child pornography have turned to the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (“VAWA”), codified in 18 U.S.C. § 2259, to apply for and receive restitution from defendants convicted of possessing…