The Indiana Court of Appeals has partially reversed the conviction of Taylor Mitchell Fischer, finding that the trial court made a reversible error by admitting crucial toxicology evidence due to the State failing to adhere to specific statutory requirements for introducing laboratory reports. Fischer was convicted of several offenses related…
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Speeding Ticket Appeal Dismissed: Defendant Waived Right to Challenge Pre-Trial Issues with No Contest Plea
The Intermediate Court of Appeals of the State of Hawai‘i has affirmed the judgment against Kenneth Edward Texeira, effectively dismissing his appeal which raised fifteen separate points of error concerning pre-trial rulings and procedural issues related to his traffic violation case. The court’s decision hinged on a fundamental rule of…
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Supreme Court Clarifies Hearing Requirements for New Trial Motions
The Ohio Supreme Court has weighed in on a crucial procedural question for criminal defendants: when a motion for a new trial is based on newly discovered evidence, must the trial judge hold a formal, in-person hearing? The answer, according to the majority opinion, is no—but an evidentiary review is…
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Manley Fails to Overturn Probation Revocation; Court Upholds Sentence Length and Procedural Bar on Statute Challenge
A Virginia man’s challenge to the revocation of his suspended sentence has been rejected by the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Ronald Lee Manley argued that the sentencing court abused its discretion by imposing 2 years and 16 days of active incarceration and that his subsequent indefinite term of supervised…
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Court Upholds Drug Convictions Despite Ledger Dispute
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the convictions and 180-month concurrent sentences of Victor Yoel Perez Cremades for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl. The appellate court found that the evidence presented at trial was overwhelmingly sufficient to support…
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Eleventh Circuit Affirms Convictions Swiftly, Citing Binding Precedent
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has summarily affirmed the convictions and sentence of Romuel Angrand, ruling that his main legal challenges were already settled by existing circuit precedent. The court granted the government’s motion for summary affirmance, concluding that Angrand’s arguments were clearly wrong as…
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Court Reverses Termination of Mother’s Rights, Cites Failure to Weigh Incarcerated Parent’s Rehabilitation Efforts
The Indiana Court of Appeals has partially overturned a trial court’s decision to terminate the parental rights of a mother and father concerning their young child, B.T. In a split decision, the appellate court found insufficient evidence to support the termination of the mother’s rights, while affirming the termination for…
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Timely Appeal Missed: Court Upholds Denial of Decades-Old Sentencing Challenge
The Ohio Sixth Appellate District Court has affirmed the dismissal of a motion filed by Todd Plassman, who sought to overturn sentences imposed over three decades ago, ruling that his filing was an untimely post-conviction petition that failed to meet strict statutory exceptions. The ruling centers on procedural deadlines, effectively…
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Judicial Overreach Doesn’t Void Drug Defendant’s Plea, Third Circuit Rules
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s decision to accept Jerome Brown’s guilty plea, despite acknowledging that the District Judge improperly involved himself in the plea bargaining process. While the court found a clear violation of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, it…
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Washington Supreme Court Denies Reimbursement for Community Service Used to Pay Invalidated Fines
The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that individuals whose drug possession convictions were overturned following the landmark *State v. Blake* decision are not entitled to state reimbursement for the value of community service hours used to satisfy their court-imposed financial obligations (LFOs). The denial of reimbursement for this labor, unlike…