During the pandemic, criminal defense lawyers got spoiled with the favorable plea offers. With dockets backing up, the government was desperate to resolve cases through non-trial dispositions. One prosecutor compared it to a “fire sale.” Those times are over. I have noticed this. My colleagues have noticed this. And a long-time judge on the felony calendar who knows about these …
They are known on the street as the “jump out” cops. They cruise poor parts of town in unmarked cars, one car following the other. There are 3 or 4 officers in each car. They pull up and jump out at the slightest hint of criminal activity. Sometimes they see a suspect walking with a lopsided gait or swinging only …
In Arizona v. Gant, the U.S. Supreme Court held that police may search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to a recent occupant’s arrest (and therefore without a warrant) under one of only two scenarios. The first scenario is that officers have a reasonable belief that the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search, thereby …
Rule 11(c)(1)(C) pleas are all the rage in D.C. With word spreading throughout the D.C. jail, every defendant is either entering into one or wondering why he or she was not offered one. *** I had a client a while back who was about to enter into what I believed was a favorable plea agreement. The agreement was the …
According to the “Rule of Lenity,” a court should construe any ambiguity in the language of a criminal statute in favor of the defendant.
Property seized by police during an arrest is often subject to civil forfeiture proceedings whether or not the person is ever convicted of a crime.
Parties who prevail in a CPO hearing can file a motion asking the court to assess legal fees against the other party. Respondents must prove “bad faith.”
Everything you need to know (webpages, emails and phone numbers) to navigate your way around D.C. Superior Court’s Criminal Division during the pandemic.
It is reversible error for the trial judge to prohibit the defendant from testifying that he was acting in self-defense when the court had already concluded that the arresting officer had not used excessive force.
Although a person can always revoke consent to a warrantless search, such a withdrawal of permission must be clearly and unequivocally communicated. So held the D.C. Court of Appeals in Ford v. United States.