For the week of March 15, 2010 (belatedly cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog).
With Facebook Friends Like These... The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a FOIA request with several federal law enforcement agencies to shed light on how they use social networking sites in their investigations. Several documents are available here, including a DOJ presentation on "Obtaining and Using Evidence from Social Networking Sites." For future disclosures, keep an eye on EFF's social networking monitoring thread.
"Science in Court." That's the theme for the new issue of Nature, which highlights how forensic techniques have "developed largely in isolation from academic science, . . . shaped more by the practical needs of the criminal-justice system than by the canons of peer-reviewed research." Specific areas addressed are fingerprints, DNA and fMRI.
Now with More Pictures. The Supreme Court has a new website.
Without More Pictures, but Still an Improvement. Meanwhile, PACER has launched a new case locator, which allows you to search all district, bankruptcy and appellate courts from one spot. The old Party/Case Index will be phased out in the next few months.
Deconstructing the Career Offender Guideline. Your friendly Office of Defender Services has a newly-revised version (March 11, 2010) here.
The Week in Sausage Making. The Senate unanimously approved S. 1789, which would reduce but not eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. Senate measures introduced include S. 3120 ("Fugitive Information Networked Database Act," which would provide additional resources for extradition and encourage states to enter felony warrants into national database; and S. 3122, which would required the Attorney General to compile and make publicly available certain data relating to Equal Access to Justice Act.
Top of the Ninth - 9th Cir. decisions released during the week.
U.S. v. Mann (member of Indian tribe that is not federally recognized does not have Indian status within 18 U.S.C. § 1153).
U.S. v. Maggi (defendant's minimal connection with tribe was insufficient for Indian status within § 1153).
U.S. v. Nevils
(en banc) (court of appeals cannot require reversal when construction
of evidence favoring innocence is not any less likely than construction
favoring government; overruling U.S. v. Bishop) (evidence
that firearms were resting on or against sleeping defendant in unlocked
apartment was sufficient for conviction of firearms possession).
U.S. v. Hofus
(district court's jury instruction on "substantial step" and exclusion
of expert testimony on ultimate question of likelihood that defendant
intended to engage in sexual activity with minor were not abuse of
discretion).
U.S. v. Gonzalez
(denial of rehearing en banc leaves intact panel's holding, after
remand from Supreme Court, that good faith exception did not apply to Gant violation).
U.S. v. Rocha
(18 U.S.C. § 113 precludes assimilation via ACA of California PC § 245
assault) (assault with bare hands cannot support conviction under PC §
245(a)(3) assault with a dangerous weapon).
SCOTUS Focus.
The Supreme Court was in recess this week.
Short Circuits - other persuasive authority.
U.S. v. Bell (7th
Cir.) (guidelines enhancement under § 2B1.1(b)(8)(C) for violation of a
court order in commission of 18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(3) willful failure to
pay child support was impermissible double counting).
U.S. v. Caro (4th
Cir.) (dissent argues that under Eighth Amendment, death-eligibility
factors relating to defendant's history must involve violence).
In re Jones
(6th Cir.) (habeas) (28 U.S.C. § 2244(b) limitations on "second or
successive" petitions do not apply to numerically second petition
challenging changes to state parole system that occurred after
conviction and initial petition).
For the Bookworms - New books and scholarly articles of note.
"Independent Crime Laboratories: The Problem of Motivational and Cognitive Bias," Paul C. Giannelli, ___ Utah L. Rev. ____ (forthcoming 2010) (SSRN)
(enumerates types of biasing that prompted the National Academy of
Sciences to recommend removing crime laboratories from the
administrative control of law enforcement).
