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The Supreme Court is reconsidering a death row conviction from 30 years ago after the prosecution’s notes from the jury selection process were found to contain multiple indicators of racial bias. Despite the evidence showing illegal racial discrimination, the State of Georgia is disputing the case, alluding to the brutality…

The Rape Trial of Owen Labrie began this week with opening statements and testimony of the complaining witness in the case. In this Blog, I will review what I see as the strength of the Defense case and why I would expect the jury to find Owen not guilty on…

The Kansas Supreme Court recently issued a decision dismissing one of the most controversial pieces of evidence used in an OUI trial – the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (HGN). Finding no evidence to support the reliability of HGN test results, the high court forbade trial judges from admitting HGN test…

New Jersey legislators are voting on a bill that would require the installation of an ignition interlock device for all drivers convicted of a DUI. If enacted, this bill would require all drivers operating a motor vehicle within a period of time after their DUI conviction to periodically breathe into…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has just issued an important decision in the license suspension case of Commonwealth v. Oyewole (click here for my previous blog on the case). After the Appeals Court rejected the defendant’s arguments that he was not properly notified of his suspension, the Supreme Judicial Court…

The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear arguments on the constitutionality of traffic stops based on a police officer’s mistaken understanding of the law under the Fourth Amendment. The case, Heien v. North Carolina, stems from the drug trafficking prosecution of the defendant-petitioner, which resulted from…

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller was recently arrested and detained in an Atlanta jail resulting from an allegation of domestic violence raised by his wife. A CNN article reports that local police received a 911 call after 10pm on August 9 from the Ritz-Carlton hotel regarding an alleged assault.…

In McAllen, Texas, a state appeals court judge has been arrested for drunken driving following a traffic stop this weekend. After failing field sobriety tests and admitting to drinking five beers beforehand, the judge was charged with a DUI was subsequently released from police custody on a $2,000 bail posting…

The Supreme Court has just issued a landmark ruling banning law enforcement officers from searching an arrestee’s cell phone or mobile device without a warrant. According to all nine justices of the Supreme Court, a warrantless search of a mobile device, even a search incident to an arrest, is unconstitutional…

In the recent matter of Commonwealth v. Hourican, the Appeals Court reversed a trial judge’s denial of a motion to suppress breathalyzer test, ruling that the test results were invalid under state regulations. The Appeals Court’s decision is a significant victory for Massachusetts OUI defense attorneys as the Court placed…