trial-court&amp Case Commentaries

Sixth Circuit: No Lesser-Included Simple Possession Instruction Absent Countervailing Evidence; Reaffirmation of Speedy Trial Act Dismissal-Without-Prejudice Factors and Valid Faretta Waiver

Date: Jul 16, 2025

Sixth Circuit: No Lesser-Included Simple Possession Instruction Absent Countervailing Evidence; Reaffirmation of Speedy Trial Act Dismissal-Without-Prejudice Factors and Valid Faretta Waiver...

Responsiveness Over Results: Sixth Circuit Reaffirms that Consistent Police Intervention Defeats “Unable or Unwilling” and that Plausible Explanations Do Not Salvage Adverse Credibility

Date: Jul 16, 2025

Responsiveness Over Results: Sixth Circuit Reaffirms that Consistent Police Intervention Defeats “Unable or Unwilling” and that Plausible Explanations Do Not Salvage Adverse Credibility Introduction...

Gray v. Birchfield & Koch Foods: Recognising Multiple Prevailing Parties in Multi-Defendant Litigation

Date: Jul 16, 2025

Gray v. Birchfield & Koch Foods: The Eleventh Circuit Confirms that More Than One “Prevailing Party” May Exist When a Single Plaintiff Sues Multiple Defendants 1. Introduction Ka’Toria Gray, a nurse...

“Heat-of-Passion” Re-Visited: State v. Mangru Confirms the Sequential-Consideration Rule for Voluntary Manslaughter Instructions in Rhode Island

Date: Jul 16, 2025

“Heat-of-Passion” Re-Visited: State v. Mangru Confirms the Sequential-Consideration Rule for Voluntary Manslaughter Instructions in Rhode Island 1. Introduction Case: State v. Andrew Mangru, Nos....

“No Participation, No Privilege”: The Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Standing for Interlocutory Appeals Based on Legislative Privilege

Date: Jul 16, 2025

“No Participation, No Privilege”: The Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Standing for Interlocutory Appeals Based on Legislative Privilege Introduction In Pen American Center, Inc. v. Escambia County School...

Clark v. DRC: Ohio Supreme Court Reaffirms State’s Duty to Obtain Public Records Held by Private Prison Operators

Date: Jul 16, 2025

Clark v. Department of Rehabilitation & Correction (2025-Ohio-2473): Ohio Supreme Court Reaffirms the State’s Non-Delegable Duty to Retrieve and Produce Public Records Held by Private Prison...

United States v. Garcia-Oquendo: The First Circuit Extends Rule 32.1(b)(2)(C)’s Limited Confrontation Right to the Sentencing Stage of Supervised-Release Revocations

Date: Jul 15, 2025

United States v. Garcia-Oquendo: The First Circuit Extends Rule 32.1(b)(2)(C)’s Limited Confrontation Right to the Sentencing Stage of Supervised-Release Revocations Introduction In United States v....

Paper Ballots Are a “Voting System”: Seventh Circuit Holds HAVA’s Accessibility Mandate Applies to Hand-Count Jurisdictions

Date: Jul 15, 2025

Paper Ballots Are a “Voting System”: Seventh Circuit Holds HAVA’s Accessibility Mandate Applies to Hand-Count Jurisdictions Case: United States v. Town of Thornapple, Wisconsin, No. 24-2931 (7th Cir....

Rule 11 Adequacy When Defendant Is Off Medication and the Substantive Reasonableness of a Modest Upward Variance: The Tenth Circuit’s Anders Dismissal in United States v. Bertschy

Date: Jul 15, 2025

Rule 11 Adequacy When Defendant Is Off Medication and the Substantive Reasonableness of a Modest Upward Variance: The Tenth Circuit’s Anders Dismissal in United States v. Bertschy Introduction In...

Assignments Don’t Release Oil-and-Gas Operators Absent Novation; Former Operators Remain “Operators” Under Wyoming’s Split Estate Act; Declaratory Counterclaims Survive Third‑Party Cure

Date: Jul 15, 2025

Assignments Don’t Release Oil-and-Gas Operators Absent Novation; Former Operators Remain “Operators” Under Wyoming’s Split Estate Act; Declaratory Counterclaims Survive Third‑Party Cure Case: Tear...

Alternative §3553(a) Sentences and Written Statements of Reasons Defeat Plain-Error Challenges to Guideline Miscalculations: The Fifth Circuit Reaffirms Hott and Clarifies Diggles

Date: Jul 15, 2025

Alternative §3553(a) Sentences and Written Statements of Reasons Defeat Plain-Error Challenges to Guideline Miscalculations: The Fifth Circuit Reaffirms Hott and Clarifies Diggles Introduction In...

Bell v. State: Idaho Supreme Court Clarifies Preservation Requirements and Specificity Standards for Incorporating Claims in Amended Post-Conviction Petitions

Date: Jul 15, 2025

Bell v. State: Idaho Supreme Court Clarifies Preservation Requirements and Specificity Standards for Incorporating Claims in Amended Post-Conviction Petitions 1. Introduction Bell v. State, 52104...

“One LSA per Degree Level” & the Formal Adoption of the Turner Test in New Mexico – A Commentary on State v. Swayne, 2025-NMSC-___

Date: Jul 15, 2025

“One LSA per Degree Level” & the Formal Adoption of the Turner Test in New Mexico – Commentary on State v. Swayne, 2025-NMSC-___ 1. Introduction In State v. Swayne (2025), the New Mexico Supreme...

Major Political Parties Have Standing to Enforce Election-Inspector Parity Under MCL 168.674(2)

Date: Jul 15, 2025

Major Political Parties Have Standing to Enforce Election-Inspector Parity Under MCL 168.674(2) Case: Michigan Republican Party and Republican National Committee v. Donahue, Kim, and Kaake (Genesee...

Misreading PSR “National Sentencing Averages” Is a Procedural Error Reviewed Only for Plain Error; Within‑Guidelines Sentences Remain Presumptively Reasonable in the Sixth Circuit

Date: Jul 15, 2025

Misreading PSR “National Sentencing Averages” Is a Procedural Error Reviewed Only for Plain Error; Within‑Guidelines Sentences Remain Presumptively Reasonable in the Sixth Circuit Case: United States...

Structural Error Limited to Constitutional Violations – A Commentary on United States v. Johnson (2025)

Date: Jul 15, 2025

Structural Error Limited to Constitutional Violations – A Commentary on United States v. Johnson (2d Cir. 2025) 1 Introduction On 14 July 2025 the United States Court of Appeals for the Second...

The Second Circuit’s Post-Morgan Waiver Doctrine: When Litigation Conduct Alone Extinguishes the Right to Arbitrate

Date: Jul 15, 2025

The Second Circuit’s Post-Morgan Waiver Doctrine: When Litigation Conduct Alone Extinguishes the Right to Arbitrate 1. Introduction Case: Doyle v. UBS Financial Services, Inc., No. 24-696-cv (2d Cir....

“Say Why or Try Again” – The First Circuit’s Clarion Call for Explicit Treatment of Core Mitigation Arguments in Upward Variance Sentences (Commentary on United States v. Flores-Nater, 2025)

Date: Jul 15, 2025

“Say Why or Try Again” – The First Circuit’s Clarion Call for Explicit Treatment of Core Mitigation Arguments in Upward Variance Sentences A Comprehensive Commentary on United States v. Flores-Nater,...

“Implicit-Consequences” Doctrine: When a Guilty Plea Validly Waives Probation-Violation Challenges Without an Express Court Warning (Commentary on Gordon v. State, Del. Supr. Ct. 2025)

Date: Jul 15, 2025

“Implicit-Consequences” Doctrine: When a Guilty Plea Validly Waives Probation-Violation Challenges Without an Express Court Warning Commentary on Gordon v. State (Supreme Court of Delaware, July 14...

United States v. Collins (11th Cir. 2025): Post-Bruen Endorsement of § 5861(d) and the Limits of Plain-Error Second-Amendment Challenges

Date: Jul 15, 2025

United States v. Collins (11th Cir. 2025): Post-Bruen Endorsement of § 5861(d) and the Limits of Plain-Error Second-Amendment Challenges Introduction United States v. Sidney Rashard Collins,...

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