CASE: Crawford v Marion County Election Board. 553 U.S . 181 (2008) FACTS: An Indiana statute of 2005 required voters voting in person to produce a photo ID on the election day. In case a voter failed to meet this requirement and wanted their votes counted, then they had to cast a provisional ballot andRead More
Category: Supreme Court Decision
Supreme Court DUI Ruling Regarding the Use of Blood Tests in Determining BAC
DUI or driving under the influence is a criminal term used to refer to the crime of driving a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol. In the case of alcohol, a typical test referred to as the blood alcohol content is administered to determine the level of intoxication that the driver has. ThereRead More
Warrantless Blood Draw in DUI Investigation | United States Supreme Court Lets Decision Stand
In Missouri v. McNeely, the United States Supreme Court decided that a blood draw is a search which is protected under the Fourth Amendment. It was held that a forced blood draw, by itself, is not considered an exception to the warrant requirement. Up until this decision, the “exigent circumstances” exception dictated whether or notRead More
Bautista v. State | DUI Manslaughter
DUI Manslaughter | Double Jeopardy? The Supreme Court of Florida is faced with a certified question “of great public importance” from the Fourth District regarding the decision of Bautista v. State: “DOES THE “A/ANY” TEST ADOPTED IN GRAPPIN V. STATE AND STATE V. WATTS AS THE METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE UNIT OF PROSECUTION FOR THE COMMISSION OF MULTIPLE PROSCRIBEDRead More
Search & Seizure | Fourth Amendment
Search & Seizure The United States was founded on personal liberties. When America’s Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, they sought to protect the people from a villainous government. The Fourth Amendment allows us to live free from unreasonable, general searches performed by law enforcement officers and their agents. The United States Supreme Court has recognizedRead More
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel | Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 An appeal based on the Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, is an appeal of last resort. It is used when all other appeals have been exhausted. This appeal is a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, in which the defense attorney was unprepared, orRead More
Child Neglect | Gun in Toddler’s Mouth
Video of Toddler with Gun in Mouth Parents Arrested | Child Neglect & Criminal Recklessness Parents from Evansville, Indiana, are facing charges of criminal recklessness and child neglect after police found a video of their one-year-old child placing a gun in her mouth, which police later identified as a .40-caliber handgun. According to the report, aRead More
Mistaken Police Officer
Mistaken Police Officer Now An Exception to Unreasonable Search The United States Supreme Court has ruled that a police officers good faith reasonable mistake on the law does not run afoul of the 4th Amendment to the constitution that bans unreasonable searches and seizures. In Heien v. North Carolina, the Court in a 8-1 decisionRead More