Criminal Law Blog
Confrontation Clause Cases (Part 1)
The following cases all address the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause. They are particularly relevant to cases in which the prosecution seeks to admit the results of laboratory testing. This is common in cases of alleged “drug driving: in which a urine and/or...
The Graves Act and Parole Ineligibility
On March 4, 2024 a three-judge appellate panel decided the Middlesex County case of State v. Zaire Cromedy. The principal issue before the Court under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(j) concerned whether certain first-degree weapons offenses were exempt from mandatory parole...
Sexual Morality and Jury Service (Part 4)
Justice Alito concluded with the following: Under Missouri law, “the standard for determining whether a juror should be excused for cause is whether his or her views would ‘prevent or substantially impair’ the performance of duties as a juror.” State v. Ramsey, 864 S....
Sexual Morality and Jury Service (Part 3)
Justice Alito continued: Second, the court concluded that the jurors had been dismissed, not based on their religious status, but based on their religious beliefs. And this distinction, it said, made all the difference because, in its view, while dismissals based on a...
Sexual Morality and Jury Service (Part 2)
Justice Alito continued: In response to this question, some potential jurors raised their hands, and Finney’s lawyer then questioned them individually. During this phase of voir dire, Juror 4, a pastor’s wife, stated that “homosexuality, according to the Bible, is a...
Sexual Morality and Jury Service (Part 1)
On February 20, 2024, The United States Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Missouri Department of Corrections v. Jean Finney. Justice Alito added the following analysis to the denial. I agree that we should not grant certiorari in...
Inconsistent Verdicts and Double Jeopardy (Part 2)
The Court concluded with the following in relevant part: Our “cases have defined an acquittal to encompass any ruling that the prosecution’s proof is insufficient to establish criminal liability for an offense.” Evans v. Michigan, 568 U. S. 313, 318. Once rendered, a...
Inconsistent Verdicts and Double Jeopardy (Part 1)
On February 21, 2024, a unanimous United States Supreme Court decided the case of Mcelrath v. Georgia. The principal issue concerned whether a jury verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity constituted an acquittal for double jeopardy purposes notwithstanding its...
Facebook and the Wiretap Statute (Part 5)
The Court continued in relevant part: The wiretap statutes are infused with constitutional considerations, as identified in Berger and Katz. The Constitution sets the benchmark for a reasonable search: the use of a warrant based on probable cause. When a lesser...
Facebook and the Wiretap Statute (Part 4)
Chief Justice Rabner continued in relevant part: The Court next considers whether the requests for information in this appeal are subject to the enhanced privacy protections of the wiretap acts. The State argues the wiretap acts do not apply because the stored...