By Mani Dabiri | Published April 6, 2018 | Posted in Federal and State Criminal Defense, Government Subpoenas and Investigations, Post-Conviction Defense and Appeals, White-Collar and Regulatory Defense | Tagged Tags: bordersearches, dueprocess, fourthamendment, jurisdiction, privacyandsurveillance, searchwarrants, technology |
The Microsoft-Ireland Case is Moot
We covered this before here and here. But the high-profile case of United States v. Microsoft Corporation is now over. The question was whether the government could force Microsoft to turn over data that it stored on servers in other countries. The problem was that federal law didn’t allow the government to do that, or at least Read More
Read MoreThe End of Absolute Immunity for Prosecutors
Another outstanding feature by The Marshall Project. It’s written by a senior federal trial judge in New York. For 23 years, he’s sentenced the likes of murderers, rapists, gangsters, and fraudsters—some to prison for the rest of their lives. But he says it’s time to put an end to absolute immunity for prosecutors. Absolute immunity is what Read More
Read MoreWhen You Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
You may never serve on a jury, but suppose you did. How would you feel—how would any of us feel—if we voted to convict someone innocent? This person knows. In 2009, she voted to convict a 17-year-old boy for murder based on the testimony of one eyewitness. The witness and victim were friends, and they were Read More
Read MoreThey May Be Intelligent, But Are They Wise?
Speaking of fair shakes, here is a wise word of caution about the emerging, expanding use of computer programs to evaluate people in the justice system, whether at bail hearings, sentencings, or elsewhere. The author is a former software engineer at Facebook who’s now studying law at Harvard. Her point isn’t that we shouldn’t use or consult these programs, but Read More
Read MoreCalifornia’s New Sex-Offender Registry
Big news out of California last week. Beginning in 2021, the state will replace its current sex-offender registry, which requires everyone to register for life, with a three-tiered system that distinguishes among low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk offenders. People in the first tier will be able to petition to end their registration after ten years. You’re in this tier Read More
Read MoreImpaneling a Jury of Your Peers
Do you have a civil or criminal case that’s heading to trial? Starting next year, California will have new rules for picking a jury in both types of cases. First, the rules for criminal cases. This is Assembly Bill 1541. It brings jury selection in criminal trials more in line with the procedure for civil trials. The process will still Read More
Read MoreTwo Sides of the Same Coin
It’s not always easy to weigh the scales of justice. Sometimes, like in the two stories from last week, the system treats people too harshly, and it ruins their lives. Other times, though, someone’s unfairly blamed for not being harsh enough. That’s the premise of this piece by a former chief criminal judge who was vilified for setting someone free without Read More
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