Adnan Syed, subject of “Serial,” granted appeal.
It is difficult to tell from the podcast whether Adnan is innocent, but reasonable doubt should not have been out of reach. Congratulations to our friend C. Justin Brown on this excellent result.
Category Go “D”!
Go “D”!
Judge Motz is willing to do the right thing, to include correcting an error made at trial. In this post-verdict Order, Judge Motz granted in part a motion for acquittal based on drug weight:
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA *
*
*
v. * Criminal No. – JFM-11-003
*
WAYNE LAMPKIN, JR. *
*
******
MEMORANDUM
Defendant has filed a motion for new trial or judgment of acquittal. The motion will be granted in part and denied in part. Continue reading “Go “D”!”
Go “D”!
In this Memorandum Opinion, Federal District Judge Henry Hudson held that the application of the 2008 Federal Sentencing Guidelines violated the ex post facto clause of the US Constitution. Federal prosecutors had argued that the guidelines no longer implicate the ex post facto clause following the Supreme Court’s decision in US v. Booker. They were wrong.
Go “D”!
We bring you two nice defense victories this week:
The first win is US v. Burke, a case in which Judge Roger Titus sitting in the District of Maryland granted the Defendant’s motion to suppress statements and evidence flowing from an illegal traffic stop. The issue was whether a traffic stop that served as the pretext for an investigation of unrelated criminal activity was reasonable. It is rare for the defense to prevail in such matters, but it is also rare for the government’s witness to testify that the basis for the stop was “there must have been a [traffic] violation because I pulled him over.” Is that like saying “he must have been innocent because we dismissed the charges”?
The second case, outside of our geography but won by fellow blogger and law school friend David Markus, is US v. Shaygan. The Shaygan case involved a South Florida doctor who was accused of distributing illegal prescription drugs. You know you’ve tried a good case when jurors want to hug your client before leaving the courtroom.
Fraud with Peril 