Courts

U.S. Sentencing Commission Seeks Comment on Proposals Addressing the Impact of Acquitted Conduct, Youthful Convictions, and Other Issues Today the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to seek comment on several proposals that would, among other things, limit the federal courts’ consideration of acquitted conduct and youthful convictions under the federal sentencing [...]

This report uses new analytical techniques and newly available data to determine if the demographic differences in sentencing observed in prior reports continued to persist during the latest five-year study period. Introduction In August 2023, the United States Sentencing Commission identified as one of its final priorities "the “[c]ompilation and [...]

By Ken Wallentine for Police1.com Law Enforcement and the Law The appellate court began its analysis by noting that a charging vehicle can be a deadly weapon This article was featured in Lexipol's Xiphos newsletter, a monthly legal-focused law enforcement newsletter authored by Ken Wallentine. Subscriptions are free for public safety officers, [...]

The lesson of both this case and the Byrd decision is that officers should ask any suspect who is not named in the contract about their control and authority to operate the car. By Ken Wallentine for Lexipol   UNITED STATES V. MONTALVO-FLORES, 2023 WL 5521062 (3RD CIR. 2023)   Officers arrested Christopher [...]

By Ken Wallentine for Lexipol Baker v. City of McKinney, 2023 WL 6619477 (5th Cir. 2023) Police were looking for Wesley Little, who was on the run with a 15-year-old girl. Little had successfully evaded police on a wild chase behind the wheel of a fast Corvette. He drove to Vicki Baker’s [...]

By Ken Wallentine for Lexipol Tousis v. Billiot, 2023 WL 6860926 (7th Cir. 2023) DEA agents suspected Gus Tousis of drug trafficking. An agent obtained a warrant to place a tracking device on Tousis’ car. The tracker transmitted the location of the car and the speed at which it was traveling. Agents [...]

Missouri Supreme Court building (Karen Elshout/file photo) By Scott Lauck for molawyersmedia.com The Missouri Supreme Court is preparing to determine whether indigent defendants have a right to a lawyer at the earliest stage of their criminal cases. On Sept. 26, the high court accepted two cases addressing whether arraignments and [...]

This case encourages officers to accurately and painstakingly report all factors relied upon to conclude there was reasonable suspicion to detain and reasonable suspicion to frisk By Ken Wallentine for Police1.com UNITED STATES V. HAGOOD, 2023 WL 5597832 (2ND CIR. 2023) Two uniformed officers patrolling in an unmarked police car drove [...]