News

Case Summaries

Criminal Law & Procedure

[05/20] Metrish v. Lancaster
Defendant is not entitled to federal habeas relief, where: 1) after defendant's first trial but prior to his retrial, the Michigan Supreme Court 2001 decision in Carpenter, held that the diminished-capacity defense was not encompassed within the Michigan Legislature's comprehensive scheme for mental-illness defenses and thus could not be invoked by criminal defendants; 2) in light of U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the history of Michigan's diminished-capacity defense, the Michigan Court of Appeals' decision applying Carpenter retroactively at defendant's retrial is not an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law; and thus, 3) defendant's due process rights were not violated.

[05/20] People v. Fernandez
Defendant's convictions for sexual abuse of his granddaughters is affirmed, where: 1) defendant forfeited his right to complain that the trial court erred when it permitted the prosecution to amend the information; 2) there was no instructional error; 3) defendant's assertions of prosecutorial misconduct fail, and even assuming any improper argument was made, the argument was harmless, and no prejudice has been, or can be, demonstrated; 4) defendant's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel lack merit; and 5) defendant has not shown cumulative error.

[05/17] Olivas-Motta v. Holder
Petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) decision, concluding that petitioner's conviction for endangerment under Arizona law constituted a crime involving moral turpitude based on information in police reports, is granted, where: 1) a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) is a generic crime whose description is complete unto itself, such that "involving moral turpitude" is an element of the crime and an Immigration Judge (IJ) and the BIA are limited to the record of conviction to determine whether an alien was convicted of a CIMT; 2) the Attorney General wrongly decided, in Matter of Silva-Trevino, which held otherwise; and 3) the IJ and the BIA improperly considered evidence beyond the record of conviction in holding that petitioner was convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.

[05/17] US v. Greig
Sentence of eight years imposed on defendant, for various crimes she committed while on the run with fugitive, James "Whitey" Bulger, is affirmed, where: 1) the district court did not err in finding that defendant's conduct was not limited to harboring Bulger and refusing to cap her offense level accordingly; 2) there was no error in applying the firearm or obstruction of justice enhancement; and 3) the judge's decision to let the family members of Bulger's victims speak was not an abuse of his wide discretion.

Read More