Puerto Rico Case Commentaries

Therapeutic Reunification as a Condition Precedent to Implementing Grandparent Visitation Under Domestic Relations Law § 72

Date: Jun 5, 2026

Therapeutic Reunification as a Condition Precedent to Implementing Grandparent Visitation Under Domestic Relations Law § 72 Case: Matter of Shirley XX. v. Molly YY. Court: Appellate Division of the...

Mitigation-Cost Standing for Municipal Water Failures, But No Procedural Due Process Claim Where Billing-Dispute Process Ultimately Provides Relief

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Mitigation-Cost Standing for Municipal Water Failures, But No Procedural Due Process Claim Where Billing-Dispute Process Ultimately Provides Relief I. Introduction In Jackson v. City of Jackson,...

Dangerousness, Not Location: § 922(g)(1) May Disarm Drug Traffickers Even Inside the Home

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Dangerousness, Not Location: § 922(g)(1) May Disarm Drug Traffickers Even Inside the Home Case: United States v. Squire (5th Cir. June 2, 2026) | Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth...

Unpreserved § 924(c) “Brandish/Discharge” Instruction Challenges Fail Absent Plain Error When the Charge as a Whole Tracks the Indictment; RICO Continuity Is Presumed Over a Year-Plus Span Despite Quiescence

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Unpreserved § 924(c) “Brandish/Discharge” Instruction Challenges Fail Absent Plain Error When the Charge as a Whole Tracks the Indictment; RICO Continuity Is Presumed Over a Year-Plus Span Despite...

Mandatory VICAR Life Sentences for Adult Offenders and RICO Life Exposure Based on Life-Eligible Racketeering Acts: Commentary on United States v. Elmer Alas Candray

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Mandatory VICAR Life Sentences for Adult Offenders and RICO Life Exposure Based on Life-Eligible Racketeering Acts Decision: Affirmed (Fourth Circuit, unpublished). Case: United States v. Elmer Alas...

Voluntary Settlement Extinguishes Standing to Appeal Class/Collective Decertification—Contractual “Right to Appeal” Cannot Create Article III Jurisdiction

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Voluntary Settlement Extinguishes Standing to Appeal Class/Collective Decertification—Contractual “Right to Appeal” Cannot Create Article III Jurisdiction Case: James Mebane v. GKN Driveline North...

Qualified Immunity in Foster-Placement Decisions: No Clearly Established Substantive Due Process Right for Foster Parents’ Children

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Qualified Immunity in Foster-Placement Decisions: No Clearly Established Substantive Due Process Right for Foster Parents’ Children I. Introduction In C.L.G. v. South Carolina Department of Social...

Private Reporting to Police, Without Public Cooperation, Fails “Social Distinction” for a Particular Social Group

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Private Reporting to Police, Without Public Cooperation, Fails “Social Distinction” for a Particular Social Group 1. Introduction In Raul Matos-Salazar v. Attorney General United States of America...

Tabron Controls: Local “Special Circumstances” Rules Cannot Substitute for the Third Circuit’s Appointed-Counsel Analysis

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Tabron Controls: Local “Special Circumstances” Rules Cannot Substitute for the Third Circuit’s Appointed-Counsel Analysis 1. Introduction In Marlon McDougall v. Tyson (3d Cir. June 2, 2026) (not...

Tabb v. State: Waiver of Unobjected-to Visible Shackling and the Use of Defendant Admissions (with Corroboration) and Lay Cell-Tower Mapping to Sustain a Murder Conviction

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Tabb v. State: Waiver of Unobjected-to Visible Shackling and the Use of Defendant Admissions (with Corroboration) and Lay Cell-Tower Mapping to Sustain a Murder Conviction 1. Introduction In Tabb v....

Statutory “Zoning Decision” Amendments Do Not Displace OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(1): Discretionary Applications Still Required for Appeals from Rezoning Denials

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Statutory “Zoning Decision” Amendments Do Not Displace OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(1): Discretionary Applications Still Required for Appeals from Rezoning Denials 1. Introduction Sockwell Corners, LLC v. Newton...

Williams v. State (Ga. 2026): Mental-Illness Evidence Alone Does Not Trigger Sua Sponte Competency Inquiry; Counsel May Honor Client’s Chosen Objective of Innocence

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Williams v. State (Ga. 2026): Mental-Illness Evidence Alone Does Not Trigger Sua Sponte Competency Inquiry; Counsel May Honor Client’s Chosen Objective of Innocence 1. Introduction In Williams v....

Glover v. State: Strategic Withdrawal as Affirmative Waiver (and Trial-Level Waiver of Brady/Discovery Claims)

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Glover v. State: Strategic Withdrawal as Affirmative Waiver (and Trial-Level Waiver of Brady/Discovery Claims) 1. Introduction In Glover v. State (Supreme Court of Georgia, June 2, 2026), Albert...

Criminal Solicitation to Purchase Marijuana as an Inherently Dangerous Felony Supporting Felony Murder (and Foreseeable Intervening Violence Satisfying Proximate Cause)

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Criminal Solicitation to Purchase Marijuana as an Inherently Dangerous Felony Supporting Felony Murder (and Foreseeable Intervening Violence Satisfying Proximate Cause) 1. Introduction In Jones v....

Transferred-Intent Prosecutions: No Fatal Variance When Indictment Names the Actual Victims, and No Unlawful-Act Involuntary Manslaughter Charge Where the Conduct is Felony Aggravated Assault

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Transferred-Intent Prosecutions: No Fatal Variance When Indictment Names the Actual Victims, and No Unlawful-Act Involuntary Manslaughter Charge Where the Conduct is Felony Aggravated Assault 1....

Compton v. State: Waiver of Mistrial Claim Absent an Immediate, Contemporaneous Motion When Post‑Miranda Silence Is Mentioned

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Compton v. State: Waiver of Mistrial Claim Absent an Immediate, Contemporaneous Motion When Post‑Miranda Silence Is Mentioned 1. Introduction Case: Compton v. State (Supreme Court of Georgia, June 2,...

Sims v. State (Ga. 2026): The “Meaningful Argument” Requirement on Appeal—Record Citations and Legal Analysis Are Mandatory

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Sims v. State (Supreme Court of Georgia, June 2, 2026): The “Meaningful Argument” Requirement on Appeal—Record Citations and Legal Analysis Are Mandatory 1. Introduction In Sims v. State, the Supreme...

“Not Right Now” Is an Equivocal Miranda Invocation; No Reversal Absent Seating of an Unqualified Juror After a Denied For-Cause Strike

Date: Jun 4, 2026

“Not Right Now” Is an Equivocal Miranda Invocation; No Reversal Absent Seating of an Unqualified Juror After a Denied For-Cause Strike 1. Introduction In Jones v. State (Supreme Court of Georgia,...

Post-Offense Burglary-and-Shooting Convictions Admissible Under Georgia Rule 404(b) to Prove Intent; Rule 403 Prejudice Reduced When Other Acts Are Less Inflammatory Than Charged Murders

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Post-Offense Burglary-and-Shooting Convictions Admissible Under Georgia Rule 404(b) to Prove Intent; Rule 403 Prejudice Reduced When Other Acts Are Less Inflammatory Than Charged Murders 1....

Clark v. State: “First Practicable Moment” and Remand for Ineffective-Assistance Claims When the Defendant Remains Represented by the Same Public Defender Office

Date: Jun 4, 2026

Clark v. State: “First Practicable Moment” and Remand for Ineffective-Assistance Claims When the Defendant Remains Represented by the Same Public Defender Office 1. Introduction Case: Clark v. State...