Notes from practice · D.C. Superior Court
Jackson v. U.S.: Being nervous does not mean you are dangerous
Without more specifics, the defendant’s movements were insufficient to arouse a reasonable fear in the officer that Mr. Jackson was presently dangerous....
Consensual encounters and unprovoked flight under Henson v. U.S.
One of the problems with bad law is that it leads to even worse law. I have never been a big fan of the U.S....
Interpreting “Joint Constructive Possession” in Tamara Smith v. U.S.
If constructive possession is a legal fiction, then joint constructive possession is a double legal fiction....
On getting your own witness locked up
Jamison Koehler
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11/19/2012
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I put our star witness in jail. I have heard about prosecutors being slammed for doing this. One of my adjunct professors in law school...
Lazo v. U.S.: A Court’s Duty To Investigate a Jencks Act Violation
The Jencks Act,18 U.S.C § 3500, requires the prosecution to turn over any “statement” of a prosecution witness that relates to subject matter at issue....
Once Again, No Consequences for Prosecutorial Misconduct
On the morning of trial, the prosecutor finds out that the testimony provided by a police officer at the preliminary hearing was inaccurate. Although the...
Toward an “open file” discovery requirement
If Brady provides a constitutionally protected right to information, legislatures in this country should provide a mechanism to enforce this requirement....
Interpreting Arizona v. Gant’s “Reasonable Belief” Standard for Car Searches
According to U.S. v. Taylor, police must have reasonable belief for suspecting criminal activity in order to justify a warrantless car search under Gant....
In Re D.M.: When Can You Dismiss a Juvenile Case for “Social Reasons”?
The problem with using a canon of statutory interpretation to justify a legal opinion is that you can usually find some other canon to arrive...
Still Brady v. Maryland
The prosecutor can hardly blame me for being skeptical. I ask her about one of the counts that was dropped from the complaint, and she...
Clark v. U.S.: The Government’s Violation of a Plea Agreement
The defendant is charged with armed robbery. He and the government reach agreement on a plea deal in which the government agrees to ask for...
In Re W.R.: Warrantless Search During a Custodial Arrest
Jejomar Untalan has been busy. I reported last week on his successful appeal in In re S.B. This week the D.C. Court of Appeals issued...
California v. Hodari D: A Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Complaint
California v. Hodari D, 499 U.S. 621 (1991), is a lousy opinion. It used to be that a person was seized for Fourth Amendment purposes...
SCOTUS on Flight: Alberty v. United States
“[I]t is a matter of common knowledge that men who are entirely innocent do sometimes fly from the scene of a crime through fear of...
The “Corpus Delicti” Rule: Statements Alone Are Not Enough
My client was walking along one night in Philadelphia when he was jumped by three men who took his money and firearm. When he went...