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Article • May 15, 2013
Appeal Court Criticizes Jury Instruction, Upholds Conviction by Ronald Charles Peppers appealed his jury-trial conviction for assaulting a federal officer under 18 U.S. C. Section 111(a)(1)1. Peppers was asleep when federal officers entered his darkened trailer to effectuate an arrest, and there was a struggle in which Peppers bit one …
Article • March 15, 2013
Eighth Circuit Affirms Post-Verdict Nominal Damages Request by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's denial of a post-verdict request to instruct the jury to award nominal damages and a motion to alter or amend the judgment to include nominal damages. Clayton Miller was seen visibly intoxicated, …
Article • July 15, 2012
Ninth Circuit Acknowledges Prisoner’s Right to Extended Voir Dire in Suit Alleging Abuse by Idaho Jail Officials by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a lower court abused its discretion in refusing a prisoner's voir dire inquiry into potential juror bias for law enforcement. Floyd Darbin was a …
Third Circuit Troubled by Courtroom Shackling of Prisoners by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals expressed concern about shackling prisoners during a civil jury trial. However, the court concluded that any error was harmless, given a cautionary jury instruction. Anthony Sides was a prisoner at Pennsylvania's SCI Greene Correctional Facility, …
No New Trial on Religious Separatist Claims by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of new trial on a Missouri prisoner’s religious freedom claims. Missouri prisoner Michael Murphy “is a practicing member of the Christian Separatist Church Society (CSC)” which “allows only Caucasians to be members and …
Article • April 15, 2011
Self-Defense Available to Prisoners in Federal Guard Assault Cases by A federal prisoner charged with assaulting a guard may claim self-defense in limited circumstances, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided January 12, 2010. Michael Gore got into a fight with Lieutenant Kevin Jensen and CO Gregory …
Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions by Matthew Clarke To millions of people whose knowledge of crime labs comes from television shows such as CSI, Bones, Crossing Jordan and the venerable Quincy M.E., the forensic experts who work at such labs seem to be infallible scientists …
Brief • August 11, 2010
Cameron v. City of New York, NY, Motion for Specific Jury Instructions, 2010 Case 1:06-cv-07798-PAC Document 67 Filed 08/11/10 Page 1 of 22 PLAINTIFFS' MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION FOR SPECIFIC JURY INSTRUCTIONS, TO PRECLUDE THE INTRODUCTION OF EVIDENCE AT TRIAL, OPPOSING THE BIFURCATION OF THE ISSUE …
Article • May 15, 2010
Supreme Court of Washington Reverses Case Due to Erroneous Jury Instructions by On September 3, 2009, the Supreme Court of Washington State handed down a unanimous en banc decision holding that a defective jury instruction on the law of self defense submitted by the defense attorney requires reversal. Kenneth Kyllo, …
Anatomy of the Modern Prisoners’ Rights Suit: A Practitioner’s Guide to Successful Jury Trials on Behalf of Prisoner-Plaintiffs* by Alphonse A. Gerhardstein by Alphonse A. Gerhardstein+ Ed. Note: This article is written with the aim of assisting attorneys who are litigating prison-related lawsuits; however, it is also very helpful for …
Article • August 15, 2008
Citizenship Not Required for Damages Award by The court erroneously instructed the jury that the plaintiff had to be an American citizen to recover; the court vacates the jury verdict to avoid the "appearance of prejudice." However, the court directs entry of judgment as a matter of law against the …
Evidence in Arizona Fatal Prisoner Abuse Suit Tailored in In Limine Ruling by The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona ruled in limine on pre trial evidence following the denial of qualified immunity for Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio in a § 1983 suit involving the death of …
Article • August 15, 2008
California Jury Instruction in Sexually Violent Predator Trial Affirmed by George Whaley, a California state prisoner, was civilly committed under the state Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA). At a trial to extend his commitment for two years, the jury was deadlocked. The judge suggested that they role play, with the …
Article • August 15, 2008
Inadequate Washington State Jury Instruction Regarding Reasonable Doubt Ruled Harmless Error by Washington State prisoner Bruce Bennett, Jr., sought review in 2006 of an appellate affirmation of his escape conviction. He claimed that an inadequate jury instruction led to his conviction. The court ruled the instruction harmless error. Bennett was …
Federal Escape Statute of Limitations Not Triggered Until Return to Custody by Naturalized U.S. citizen and federal prisoner Guillermo Gonzalez appealed his 2006 escape conviction, arguing that the district court failed to instruct the jury on the statute of limitations for escape. His conviction was affirmed. While serving an eight …
Improper Jury Instruction Vacates Four Aggravated Rape Charges Against Oklahoma Sheriff by Federal prisoner and ex-Larimer County (Oklahoma) Sheriff Melvin Holly appealed his conviction for five counts of felony deprivation of rights related to numerous incidents of sexual abuse. He claimed that an inappropriate jury instruction had resulted in the …
Brief • March 10, 2008
Hartley v. Brady, FL, Pltff Proposed Voir Dire Questions (2008) Case 3:05-cv-00515-VMC-MCR Document 95 Filed 03/10/2008 Page 1 of 12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE DIVISION ERIC C. HARTLEY, Plaintiff, vs. Case No. 3:05-cv-515-VMC-MCR BRADFORD BRADY and DAVID LOVE, Defendants. / PLAINTIFF'S PROPOSED VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS …
Article • January 15, 2008
CA Prisoner's Convictions for Conspiracy to Smuggle Drugs Vacated for Bad Jury Instructions by Jaime Jasso, a California state prisoner, made several phone calls to someone outside of prison named Ruben. Guards monitored those calls and discovered that their purpose was for Passo to give Ruben directions for obtaining drugs …
Article • January 15, 2008
Sexual History May Trump Test Results Leading to SVP Classification Despite Castration by California prisoner and sexually violent predator (SVP) Edward Flores appealed a 2005 jury decision to retain him in the state hospital as a civilly-committed sex offender. He claimed that his voluntary castration should render the use of …
Erroneous Jury Instruction Nets Raped Missouri Prisoner New Civil Trial by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a jury verdict against a prisoner-plaintiff, finding that the lower court erred in responding to a jury question during deliberations. Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) prisoner Ronnie Conley was raped repeatedly by …
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