http://briefcase8.com Case analysis with an attitude Thu, 15 May 2008 14:27:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A year or so ago, I had an oral argument in the 8th District on a sentencing issue, specifically, what the post-Foster standards for sentencing were.  In the middle of my argument, one of the judges on the panel interjected, "Wasn't the real effect of Foster to abolish appellate review ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/15/sentencing-reform/ The single most frequent cause of innocent people being convicted of crimes is mistaken identification.  This has been known for the better part of the past century, and it's not getting any better.  The Innocence Project examined 174 cases of wrongful conviction (DNA evidence showed the defendant was innocent), and ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/14/blogiversary-your-lyin-eyes/ You tell me when this started to sound like a bad idea. Back in 2004, Kenneth Daniels was representing a criminal defendant, Erica French, in Hardin County, Kentucky.  Erica, it turns out, had some information of value in another case.  The prosecutor in that case, Robert Stevens, had approached her about ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/13/morality-tale-2/ Down in DC, the Supreme Court's concluded oral arguments for the term.  Between now and the third week of June, expect a raft of decisions, probably the biggest being Heller v. DC, the gun rights case. Down in Columbus, there was another sentencing decision.  The defendant in State v. Warren had committed the rape of a ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/12/case-update-49/ The AG Blues.  With Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann rebuffing demands for resignation, Ohio's pols are contemplating impeachment as a course of action.  As the Columbus Dispatch notes, legislators are going to have to read up on the process; Dann would be the first statewide Ohio elected official ever to ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/09/friday-roundup-3/ I offered the county a deal one time with my appointed criminal cases:  I'd forego billing for the stuff I actually did, if they'd take the caps off and I got to charge them for all the time I spent sitting around waiting for something to happen.  Sadly, they turned ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/08/my-expertise/ No, I'm not talking about the Marc "Drag Me Out Kicking and Screaming" Dann Deathwatch, where Vegas has pegged the over/under on his resignation at four days.  I'm talking about what's going on at the Ohio Supreme Court, where eight cases are being argued this week.  A thumbnail sketch of the ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/07/whats-on-tap-in-columbus/ There were a couple of decisions on consecutive sentencing last week.  One, State v. Caraballo, was pretty straightforward.  The defendant had pled guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition.  He may or may not have had cases pending in Missouri and in Summit County ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/05/consecutive-sentencing/ The only case out of DC this past week was the Court's 6-3 affirmance of Indiana's voter identification law, in Crawford v. Marion County.  Scotusblog has  an analysis of the case, if you're interested. I don't usually do anything with 6th Circuit cases, although I probably should.  There was a very good ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/05/case-update-48/ And I thought being a Methodist was complicated.  The wonders of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, Congress' attempt back in 1997 to protect religious freedom from government interference, was on full display last week in a case out of the 7th Circuit.  As Decision of the Day ... http://briefcase8.com/2008/05/02/friday-roundup-2/