Maryland v. Kulbicki, No. 14-848 (2015), a recent US Supreme Court decision, helps to further define the concept of ineffective assistance of counsel for purposes of Sixth Amendment claims. The case is important for anyone considering a motion for post-conviction relief in State court or a habeas petition in Federal…
The United States Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia recently announced three indictments charging several defendants with, among other things, computer hacking, theft and fraud. [US v. Shalon, No. 15-cr-00333 (S.D.N.Y.); US v. Murgio, No. 15-cr-00769 (S.D.N.Y.); and US v. Shalon,…
On December 2, 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided State v. Watts. This decision, coming on the heels of the late-September decision of State v. Witt, may suggest a continuing erosion of a criminal defendant’s constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The police obtained a…
Generally speaking, a motor vehicle is not protected from unreasonable searches and seizures to the same extent as a home. Our State’s Supreme Court has further reduced that level of protection. William Witt was pulled over on Route 48 in Carneys Point in Salem County in December 2012. Witt’s high…
One of the first decisions made in any criminal case involves setting bail. In New Jersey state courts, the initial bail is frequently set by a municipal court judge. This judge will decide if the defendant will be required to post bail or be released on their own recognizance. If…
The United States houses a quarter of the world’s prison population. The Justice Department has an annual budget of about $27 Billion, a third of which is spent on operating the federal Bureau of Prison’s 120 facilities. Further, since 1980, the US population has grown by about a third, while…
A federal statute (18 U.S.C. Sec. 875(c)) makes it a crime to transmit in interstate commerce communications containing threats to injure someone. Anthony Elonis, who was an active Facebook user, placed posts on his Facebook page that purportedly threatened patrons and employees of the park where he worked, his ex-wife,…
Cleveland, Ohio has become the latest city to enter into a consent decree with the United States Justice Department (“DOJ”) concerning the conduct of its police force. Other cities that have previously entered into similar agreements include New Orleans, Seattle and Detroit. The consent decree stemmed from a DOJ investigation…
The Cook County Jail in Chicago is one of the largest county jails in the United States, holding up to 9,000 inmates on any given day. It is estimated that approximately one third of these inmates are mentally ill. Indeed, Cook County officials have stated that the jail is, in…
Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) recently issued a new Report finding that mentally ill inmates in US prisons are frequently mistreated, neglected and abused. The Report also contains a lot of information concerning the role of prisons in the mental health system in this country. First, according to the HRW Report,…