Posts In 2010

Court of Special Appeals Declines to Extend OTT to Third Parties Sep 07

In an opinion published last week, (available here ), the Court of Special Appeals decided whether a police department’s reliance ...

Fourth Circuit Vacates Sentence Alford Plea to Second Degree Assault Not ACCA Predicate Jul 07

The opinion in United States v. Alston is available here. In an opinion published last week, Judge Niemeyer wrote a unanimous ...

Failure to Request Informant Instruction Ineffective Assistance Jul 06

This past week, in United States v. Luck, the Fourth Circuit held that where the outcome of a criminal case might hinge on the ...

No LWOP for Non Homicidal Juveniles May 17

Graham v. Florida (08-7621) The Supreme Court of the United States held today that a sentence of life without the possibility of ...

Fourth Circuit Affirms Convictions for Wire Fraud and District Court’s Calculation of Loss Feb 08

Last week, the Fourth Circuit issued an opinion in United States v. Jiten Mehta. The opinion is available here. The defendant was ...

Trial Courts Denial of a Motion for Mistrial Constituted Abuse of Discretion Jan 04

“We conclude that the case before us presents one of those rare instances in which the denial of the motion for mistrial ...