Legal Concepts/Principles

McCormick on Evidence: Do the Exclusionary Rules Deter Illegal Conduct?

April 25, 2013 Evidence

McCormick on Evidence first points out that you should avoid referring to  “the exclusionary rule” in the singular: Discussions sometimes assume the existence of “the exclusionary rule,” suggesting that there is only one remedial requirement involved. This is unfortunate and misleading. Litigation and discussion is often dominated by considerations of the Supreme Court’s construction of [...]

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On the Crucible of Cross-Examination

April 11, 2013 Criminal Procedure

It happens perhaps most often in domestic violence cases that the complainant fails to show up on the morning of trial. The government would have you believe this is because the complainant fears for his/her safety, and this might sometimes be true. More often, it is because the complainant has reconsidered having the lover, spouse, [...]

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Young v. U.S.: The Confrontation Clause Is Still Alive In D.C.

April 4, 2013 Criminal Procedure

The U.S. Supreme Court has made such a mess of the Confrontation Clause line of cases that the D.C. Court of Appeals declared today that it really doesn’t know what to do. So it decided to do the right thing instead. In Robert Young v. United States, __ A.3d __ (D.C. 2013), the D.C. Court [...]

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Further Guidance on Significant Bodily Injury in Quintanilla v. U.S.

March 25, 2013 Criminal Procedure

The D.C. Court of Appeals took another step last week in defining what up until recently has been a poorly defined term:  the “significant bodily injury” that is required in order for the government to prove felony assault. Although the appellant in Fidel Quintanilla v. United States, __ A.3 __ (D.C. 2013), was convicted of [...]

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Haye v. U.S.: Unlawful Entry, Criminal Contempt, Double Jeopardy, and Prior Bad Acts

March 24, 2013 Criminal Procedure

When people talk about evidence being admitted at trial, they tend to think in terms of physical evidence:  guns, drugs, documents, fingerprints, DNA, that type of thing. Sometimes you need to remind them that oral testimony alone – someone getting up on the stand and testifying to what he or she saw – can also [...]

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D.C. Court of Appeals on “Furtive Gestures”

March 16, 2013 Criminal Procedure

Sometimes you need to go outside your own jurisdiction to find the right language in support of an argument.  For years I have been looking for language that captures the problems — the ambiguity and the over-inclusiveness – posed by use of the police officer’s favorite catch-all phrase, “furtive gestures.”  Today I found what is [...]

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Constructive Possession: Intent Required, Not Just Proximity and Knowledge

March 14, 2013 Criminal Procedure

That a controlled substance can be possessed constructively as well as actually is a court-made decision. As Judge Ruiz put it in her concurring opinion to Rivas v. United States, 783 A.2d 125 (D.C. 2005), the “doctrine of constructive possession is a judicially developed theory of liability designed to be a ‘proxy’ for actual possession.” [...]

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Lee v. United States: Mistaken Jury Instructions on the “Defense of Others”

March 2, 2013 Defenses to Criminal Charges

The D.C. Court of Appeals was apparently feeling charitable. In Adrian Lee v. United States, __ A.3d __ (D.C. 2013), a decision issued last week, the Court bent over backwards to justify and explain mistaken jury instructions issued by the trial judge. Even as it reversed him. Adrian Lee was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and [...]

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In Re K.A.: The “Quantum of Independent Evidence” Needed to Corroborate a Confession

February 13, 2013 Firearms/Weapons

The corpus delicti rule has always been one of my favorite legal doctrines. It is not just that the rule is in Latin, although that never hurts. It is not that the rule dates back centuries, although that is pretty cool too. Instead, what I like about the rule is that it stands for the [...]

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Harrison v. U.S.: Reasonable Doubt Through Too Many “Interconnected Inferences”

January 13, 2013 Legal Concepts/Principles

Yes, they record your personal phone calls from prison. Yes, they have someone listen to those tapes. And, yes, they sometimes find something on those tapes to use against you. There is usually a voice recording that periodically reminds both parties — the inmate and the family member or friend he is speaking with – [...]

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