Academic

The University Computer Lab, the Pro Se Complaint and False Arrest

Posted on September 29, 2017
This post examines a recent decision from a federal District Court Judge who sits in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee: Molthan, v. Vanderbilt University, 2017 WL 1489099. The judge begins the opinion by explaining that ?Plaintiff Jason Steven Molthan has filed this pro se actionunder 42 U...

Child Sex Trafficking and Bypassing Security on a Tablet Computer

Posted on September 27, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit:  U.S. v. Blake, 868 F.3d 960 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining that[a]fter a nine-day trial, a jury found Dontavious Blake and Tara Jo Moore guilty of child sex trafficking for managing a prostitution ring involving at least two girls under the age of eighteen...

Forgery, Theft by Unlawful Taking and Tamper with/Fabricate Physical Evidence

Posted on September 22, 2017
This post examines a recent decision from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania: Commonwealth v. Aponte, 2017 WL 4118438 (2017).  The court begins the opinion by explaining how and why the prosecution was brought:Appellant, Luz Enid Aponte, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered on September 19, 2016, in the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas...

First Degree Perjury, Attempt to Influence a Public Servant and Tracing IP Addresses

Posted on September 21, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the Colorado Court of Appeals ? Division III: People v. Garrison, 2017 WL 3431820 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining that thecommon knowledge and experience of an ordinary person have become one marker of the boundary separating lay from expert testimony...

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The Judge, the Email and ?Violating a Criminal Protection Order?

Posted on September 15, 2017
This post examines an opinion issued by the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Colorado: People v. Lesuer, 2017 WL 3588713. The opinion begins by explaining that thePresiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties' conditional admission of misconduct and suspended James D...

?Doing Something on a Laptop,? Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and the Bench Trial

Posted on September 11, 2017
This post examines a recent decision from the Appellate Court of Illinois ? Second District: People v. Perry, 2017 WL 3328365 (2017). The court began the opinion by explaining thatthe trial court properly summarily dismissed defendant's postconviction petition, which alleged that appellate counsel had been ineffective for failing to argue that the State presented false testimony to the grand jury: defendant did not demonstrate that the testimony at issue was even arguably false and, in any event, defendant did not provide the entirety of the grand-jury testimony and thus we could not determine that the grand jury, even arguably, would not have indicted him absent that testimony...

Murder, the Facebook Message and Self-Defense

Posted on September 01, 2017
TThis post examines a recent opinion from the Court of Appeals of Indiana:  Richardson v. State, 2017 WL 2872300 (2017). The court began the opinion by explaining that ?Appellant-Defendant, Terrance L. Richardson (Richardson), appeals his conviction for murder, a felony, Ind...

?Compelling Prostitution,? the Social Networking Website and the Search Warrant

Posted on August 31, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the Court of Appeals of Texas, San Antonio: Murray v. State, 2017 WL 2664436. The court begins the opinion by describing the history of the case:Allen John Murray was convicted by a jury of compelling prostitution...

?Assault with a Deadly Weapon,? the Trial and the Juror?s Cell Phone Call

Posted on August 31, 2017
This post examines a recent decision from the California Court of Appeal ? Second District: People v. Barner, 2017 WL 3668446. The court begins the opinion by explaining thatDefendant Ashley Craig Barner was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Subsequently, a person who identified himself as Juror No...

A Digression: Starting Next Week, It Will be Legal to Carry Swords in Texas

Posted on August 26, 2017
According to a recent story in Above the Law, thenew advertisement from the Texas Law Hawk highlights three significant legal changes taking effect next week. First, drivers can no longer text and drive. That?s the sort of straightforward, logical regulation Texas is known for when there isn?t a powerful, well-financed lobbying group on the other side...

Possessing a Controlled Substance, Proving Prior Convictions and Reading From a Computer Screen

Posted on August 25, 2017
This post examines an opinion from the Missouri Court of Appeals ? Eastern District: State v. Ralph, 2017 WL 2450414 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining thatMatthew Ralph (Ralph) appeals from a sentence and judgment of conviction for possession of a controlled substance...

Armed Robbery, Using a Computer to Commit a Crime and the Habitual Offender

Posted on August 18, 2017
This post examines a recent decision from the Court of Appeals of Michigan: People v. Washington, 2017 WL 3397494 (2017) (per curiam). The court begins the opinion, as courts usually do, by explaining how and why the prosecution arose:Defendant, Martell Washington, was convicted by a jury of armed robbery, Michigan Compiled Laws 750...

The Text Messages, Criminal Harassment and the Sufficiency of the Evidence

Posted on August 16, 2017
This post examines an opinion from the Appeals Court of Massachusetts:  Commonwealth v. Villaneuva, 92 Mass. App. Ct. 1101 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining that[f]ollowing a jury-waived trial, the defendant was convicted of criminal harassment pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws 265, § 43A(a), based on a series of text messages he sent over a two-hour period to the victim...

Aggravated Indecent Exposure, Probation and the Internet Restrictions

Posted on August 14, 2017
This post examines a recent decision from the Court of Appeals of Michigan: People v. Wilson, 2017 WL 3197681 (2017) (per curiam). The court begins the opinion by explaining thatDefendant appeals, by delayed leave granted, certain probation conditions imposed for her guilty plea conviction of aggravated indecent exposure, [Michigan Compiled Laws] 750...

The Emails, the Nolo Contendere Plea and Attorney Discipline

Posted on August 11, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion the Supreme Court of Georgia issued in an attorney discipline proceeding:  Matter of Spain, 2017 WL 2822453 (2017) (per curiam). The Court begins the opinion by explaining that[t]his disciplinary matter is before the Court on the second petition for voluntary discipline filed by Respondent John Michael Spain (State Bar No...

The GPS Bicycle, Grand Theft and Formal Probation

Posted on August 09, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the California Court of Appeal ? Fourth District:  People v. Lewis, 2017 WL 2591284 (2017).  The court begins the opinion by explaining that Randall Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft of property with a value exceeding $950 (Pen...

The Email, the Day Planner and First-Degree Murder

Posted on August 07, 2017
This post examines a recent decision of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania: Commonwealth v. Fitzpatrick, 159 A.3d 562 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining that[t]he Commonwealth of Pennsylvaniaappeals from the order granting the post-sentence motion for judgment of acquittal filed by Appellee, Joseph Bernard Fitzpatrick, III...

?Burglary of a Building,? the Cell Phone and the Judgment of Acquittal

Posted on August 04, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the Sixth Court ofAppeals of Texas ? Texarkana: State v. Fowler, 2017 WL 977378 (2017). The Court of Appeals began the opinion by explaining that[a]fter Jamel McLelland Fowler was found guilty of burglary of a building by a Hunt County jury, the trial court granted Fowler's motion for new trial, then entered a judgment of acquittal...

The Pickup Truck, the Traffic Violations and the Passenger

Posted on August 02, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas ? San Antonio: Aguirre v. State, 2017 WL 2561557 (2017). The court begins the opinion, as courts usually do, by explaining how the prosecution arose:Jose Guadalupe Aguirre was a passenger in a pick-up truck stopped by police after officers observed the driver commit several traffic violations...

The No Contest Plea, Probation and Routine Searches of Computers and Other Devices

Posted on July 31, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the Court of Appeals ? Sixth District, California: People v. Ermin, 2017 WL 2929356 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining thatDefendant Vladimir Ermin pleaded no contest to being an accessory. (Penal Code, § 32...

Little Caesar?s Pizza, First-degree Robbery and the Facebook Photos

Posted on July 30, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the Missouri Courtof Appeals ? Western District: State v. McElroy, 2017 WL 2332760 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining that ?Jerome McElroy appeals the trial court's judgment, following a jury trial, convicting him of first-degree robbery (§ 569...

The Scrap Materials, Hearsay and Dealing in Stolen Property

Posted on July 28, 2017
This post examines a recent decision from the District Court of Appeals of Florida ? Second District: North v. State, 2017 WL 2484944. The court begins by explaining that Shane North was ?convicted in the Circuit Court, Polk County ...

In Re: Two Email Accounts Stored At Google, Inc.

Posted on July 26, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion a U.S. Magistrate Judgewho is assigned to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District ofWisconsin issued in a civil case. As Wikipedia explains, ?The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system...

The Chief of Police, the Facebook Posts and Stalking

Posted on July 24, 2017
This post examines a rather unusual stalking case from the Appeals Court of Massachusetts: Commonwealth v. Cristino, 2017 WL 2989723 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining that [a]fter a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of two counts of stalking pursuant to [Massachusetts General Laws  265 § 43(a)...

Grand Theft, ?Unlawful Use of a Computer System? and the Eighth Amendment

Posted on July 21, 2017
This post examines a recent opinion from the Supreme Court of South Dakota: State v. Krause, 894 N.W.2d 382 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining that[t]win brothers Ryan Alan Krause and Brian Michael Krause appeal the circuit court's imposition of four consecutive, two-year sentences on each brother for multiple convictions of unlawfully using a computer system...

Interview Rooms, Cell Phones and Privacy

Posted on April 01, 2011
A recent opinion from a Florida court addresses an interesting issue concerning expectations of privacy in the calls you receive from someone. The issue arose under a Florida statute, not the Fourth Amendment, but I still think it?s worth examining...

Tanning, Computers and Restitution

Posted on March 30, 2011
Black?s Law Dictionary defines restitution as ?full or partial compensation paid by a criminal to a victim?. Black?s Law Dictionary (9th 3d. 2009). As a legal encyclopedia notes, unlike damages in civil cases, restitution ?ordered by a court pursuant to statutes governing such orders is ...

Child Pornography and Posse Comitatus

Posted on March 28, 2011
As Wikipedia notes, posse comitatus ?is the common law . . . authority of a county sheriff or other law officer to conscript any able-bodied males to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon?. As Wikipedia also notes, the posse comitatus ?power presumably continues to exist in those U...

Tweeting = Broadcasting?

Posted on March 25, 2011
Almost a year and a half ago, I did a post on a federal decision that considered whether a reporter should be allowed to use Twitter to post periodic updates on the proceedings in a criminal trial. That case, of course, involved the application of federal law...

Fraud, Economic Espionage and the Company Laptop

Posted on March 23, 2011
Charges are currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon against Hock Chee Khoo, Thongsouk Soutavong and Shengbao Wu. U.S. v. Hock Chee Koo (sic), __ F.Supp.2d __, 2011 WL 777965 (U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon 2011)...

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