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Washington Supreme Court Majority Clarifies 'Juvenile Strikes' in 'Three Strikes Law' for Sentencing Courts, Persistent Offenders

"[T]he Supreme Court held that Washington's mandatory 'Three Strikes' law may be applied to childhood offenses, and that crimes committed by a child may count as automatic 'strikes' toward a life without parole sentence," Jan Trasen, of the Washington Appellate Project, said in statement. "This disregards evidence-based [Washington state] precedent that 'children are different' from adults, and that they must be sentenced differently. As the dissenting justices said, 'A juvenile charged and sentenced in adult court does not magically become an adult because of the venue in which the case is resolved. … Children are different and age matters.'"
4 minute read

National Law Journal

Circuit Split Watch: Judges Clash Over First Step Act Retroactivity Provision

A divided 6th Circuit lets stand decision that law does not apply to a sentence imposed prior to enactment.
4 minute read

New York Law Journal

NY Appeals Court Blocks Subpoena Demanding Reporter's Testimony in Upstate Murder Trial

The Appellate Division, Third Department reversed a decision to grant a subpoena against a reporter covering a murder investigation.
3 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

Appellate Division Bars Expert Testimony on Shaken Baby Syndrome as 'Not Scientifically Reliable'

"Although the State has demonstrated general acceptance in the pediatric community, we agree with Judge Jimenez that the State has not demonstrated general acceptance of the SBS/AHT hypothesis to justify its admission in a criminal trial," Judge Greta Gooden Brown wrote for the appellate court.
5 minute read

The Legal Intelligencer

Citing 'McDonnell,' Convicted Ex-Councilman Asks 3rd Circ. to Adopt Heighted Evidentiary Standard for Elected Officials

"To avoid constitutional vagueness concerns in the circumstances of this honest services fraud case, the government should be required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an elected official explicitly agreed to take a particular official act because he was paid for outside employment," former City Councilmember Bobby Henon argues in the appellate brief.
5 minute read

New York Law Journal

A 'Top Mensch' in the Legal Profession: New York's Top Federal Defender Heading to Kaplan Hecker

David Patton's track record before juries in federal courtrooms in Manhattan and Brooklyn helped secure his new private-sector job, Kaplan Hecker name partner Roberta Kaplan said.
3 minute read

National Law Journal

'You Sought Fairness': 1st Circuit Ceremony Honors Late Judge Juan Torruella

Fellow judges recall the Olympic sailor-turned-jurist as a strong advocate for his native Puerto Rico.
4 minute read

National Law Journal

11th Circuit Ruling Deepens Circuit Split on 'Fugitive Tolling Doctrine'

The unanimous panel says the end date of supervised release does not change even if a parolee absconds.
3 minute read

National Law Journal

DC Circuit Mulls COVID-19's Sixth Amendment Impact on Jury Pools

A convicted sex offender says the lack of prospective Black jurors deprived him of being judged by a fair cross-section of Washington, D.C.
4 minute read

New York Law Journal

New York's Highest Court Set to Go West for November Argument Session

Among the cases on the high court's docket is one of national significance, which may reshape New York's congressional redistricting.
2 minute read

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