Appeals

A California federal court dismissed a criminal case without prejudice after finding that the defendant's constitutional right to counsel was violated by a funding shortfall that left private attorneys who serve as court-appointed defense lawyers unpaid since July.

New York man is convicted in 2022 on charges of securities fraud, making false filings with the SEC, and improperly influencing the conduct of audits. This comes as a real surprise because in 2021 he was acquitted on charges that he conspired to do all those things. A double-jeopardy violation?

A few fellas were drinkin' moonshine in a Tishomingo County, Miss. trailer when things get out of hand and one is arrested for shooting some bullets—which he denies. Due to a prior conviction he's held awaiting trial. That lasts 1,233 days, during which he's given four attorneys—some of whom he's not told of—and three judges and files four pro se speedy trial motions. He's convicted. District court: Speedy trial violation, but only on one of the two counts in the indictment. Fifth Circuit: Nope.

More American Indian legal drama out of Oklahoma! In a vehicular-manslaughter prosecution, gov't had to prove defendant was an Indian to have federal jurisdiction. Defendant testified he was a tribal citizen, and he had also asserted that in state court to get out of related civil lawsuit. Tenth Circuit: Be that as it may, the gov't had to prove he was an Indian at the time of the crime, and the only evidence specifically bearing on timing was inadmissible hearsay. Conviction vacated.

A group of law enforcement officers executed a search warrant in Charlotte, NC at a suspected meth trafficker's home. Chaos ensues. One cop shoots another at least ten times, severely injuring him. Shot cop sues shooting cop for excessive force and several tort claims. As they litigate, the district court seals bodycam footage, refuses local TV station access. Fourth Circuit: Unseal it.

Florida executed David Pittman, 63, by lethal injection on Wednesday in what was a record 12th execution in the state this year.  Before 2025, Florida’s highest number of executions  was eight in 2014. Two more Florida executions are scheduled for this fall: Victor Tony (Sept. 30) and Samuel Lee Smithers (Oct. 14). 

So far 31 people have been executed in the U.S. to date this year, with Florida leading the nation on a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, who has signed more warrants than any of his predecessors.

Your humble summarist finds it outrageous—indefensible!—that some judges brazenly repeatedly used the phrase "Hobson's choice" to refer to mere dilemmas. In perhaps more significant news, the D.C.

Shortly before the 2016 election, self-described Twitter "shitlord" tweets and retweets memes urging supporters of Hillary Clinton to vote by text message. More than four years later, he is criminally indicted for conspiring to injure citizens in the exercise of their right to vote. After four days of deliberation and two Allen charges, he's convicted and sentenced to seven months in prison.