State v. Elgin Even though, during defendant’s trial, a juror engaged in misconduct by talking to her mother about the trial, (1) the juror did not tell other members of the jury that she discussed the case with her mother; (2) the trial court instructed the jury to determine defendant’s guilt or innocence based on the evidence presented at trial; and...
State v. Ellis In 1997, defendant was sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act (YOA) to an indeterminate sentence not to exceed six years, and on Dec. 19, 1997, he was released on YOA parole. The sentencing judge's order simply stated, "Probation to begin after sentence now serving."
Goins v. State Even though plea counsel provided ineffective assistance in failing to properly advise defendant on the law regarding whether a motel owner can freely admit police into a rented room, defendant has failed to prove that this advice was his reason for electing not to go to trial and has thus failed to establish prejudice.
State v. Dykes Defendant is not on probation, parole or any similar restriction, and there is no mechanism by which she can be relieved of the requirement of satellite monitoring. If defendant poses a low risk of reoffending, then S.C. Code Ann. § 23-3-540(C)’s requirement of lifetime satellite monitoring would violate her right to substantive due process.
State v. Binnarr Where defendant denied receiving any letters from the sheriff’s office regarding the new biannual sex offender re-registration requirement, and where the only prosecution witness testified that she “generally” sent letters via first-class mail to the more than 800 registered sex offenders in Charleston County and that the letter addressed to defendant was not returned as undeliverable, there was no direct evidence that defendant received actual notice of his duty to re-register.
U.S. v. Laudermilt Police responding to four quick 911 “domestic” calls relating to a couple they knew did not exceed defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights when, after arresting defendant and making a protective sweep to locate defendant’s 14-year-old autistic brother, they asked the brother where the reported gun was and he pointed to a rifle in a gun rack; the 4th Circuit reverses the district court order suppressing the firearm.
U.S. v. Palacios A defendant who served as “first word” for a local “clique” of the transnational gang La Mara Salvatrucha cannot overturn his murder and racketeering-related convictions for the murder of a woman who had contacts with rival gang members; the 4th Circuit approves the use of testimony from a police expert on gangs as an element of the case against defendant.
State v. Atieh The teenage victim testified that defendant – her boss – put his hands down the front of her pants just barely below the waistline, never coming near her vaginal area. The victim said she was in shock and just stood there, and there was no evidence of any outside force interrupting or prematurely halting defendant’s actions. The evidence does not give rise to an inference that defendant intended to do more than what he did. A jury could not reasonably and naturally infer that defendant intended to penetrate any orifice of the victim’s body. Consequently, the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for a directed verdict as to the charge of assault with intent to commit third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
U.S. v. Lawson A juror’s use of Wikipedia to research an element of a criminal offense violated defendant’s right to a fair trial on illegal “cockfighting” charges, and the 4th Circuit vacates defendant’s conviction for violating an animal fighting statute, 7 U.S.C. § 2156(a), and conspiracy convictions of defendants related solely to the animal fighting activities.
U.S. v. Gibert A federal statute that allows participation in “gamefowl derbies,” or “cockfighting” is not an unconstitutional extension of congressional power under the Commerce Clause, and the 4th Circuit upholds defendants’ convictions under the statute, 7 U.S.C. § 2156.
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