If prosecutors don't turn over potentially exculpatory evidence and a person on death row finds out about it (by accident) years later, does that mean he gets a new trial? Well, explains the Fourth Circuit over the course of 102 pages, it depends.
The case is Juniper v. Davis, No. 21-00009 (4th Cir. July 19, 2023).
Group of folks were smoking pot outside a Washington, D.C. apartment building. Officer stops and sees one guy back away and raise his hands. Cop: "Just making sure there's no guns, that's it." Show me your waistband. Guy: "No. I'm cool" and shows waistband. Cop: Noticing some bulges, says "lift your shirt again" and nodded at another cop who just arrived to approach guy. Man: Runs away, throws gun in bushes, is arrest and charged with felon in possession. Guy: that was an illegal seizure! District court: No, it wasn't!
Car in Hooksett, N.H. is traveling in the right lane and doesn't signal as the 2-lane road turns into a 1-laner. A cop stops the car and finds that the passenger has outstanding warrants and was carrying a bag of drugs. Yikes! But wait! The passenger argues state law does not require a signal when lanes merge, only when a vehicle has to change lanes. And this particular road doesn't drop the right lane but just has the lanes equally blend together. District court: Word.
The Federal Rules of Evidence govern the admission or exclusion of evidence in most proceedings in the United States courts.
The beleaguered D.C. crime lab has regained partial accreditation after nearly three years of being unable to process evidence fully (access full article).
Mr. Kenneth Smith was executed by the state of Alabama and died at 8:25 p.m. CST on January 25, 2024. This was Alabama’s second attempt to execute Mr. Smith. His last words were “‘Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backwards. . . . I'm leaving with love, peace and light. Thank you for supporting me, love all of you.’”