BLOG BULLETS: Two recent Supreme Court cases provide strong support for an argument that it’s the state guideline maximum, not a maximum set by the general statute, that controls whether a crime was “punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” under the Armed Career Criminal Act and the career offender guideline. Three other […]

Today we have a guest post from former Central District of California DFPD Myra Sun:   Now that we know our president-elect’s choice for Attorney General, where we’ve been and where we’re going with federal criminal prosecutions — drugs and beyond — is worth thinking about a little. In 1987, Congress enacted mandatory minimum sentencing […]

BLOG BULLETS: While courts must still proceed to the third Batson step when a prosecutor does not or cannot offer race-neutral reasons for a challenge, Ninth Circuit case law holds that a failure to offer race-neutral reasons is itself evidence and that it is evidence which will establish purposeful discrimination in most cases. Where a race-neutral reason […]

Forgive me if I digress from the law a little bit today.  Donald Trump has been telling us he’ll “make America great again.”  That requires us to construe “great” – if you’ll let me be a little lawyerly about it. When was the “great” Donald Trump has in mind?  Is it the first part of […]

BLOG BULLETS: Batson requires a three-step inquiry: (1) the defendant must make a prima facie case of discriminatory intent; (2) the state must then offer a race-neutral justification for the challenge; and (3) the trial court must decide whether the defendant has proven purposeful discrimination. The Supreme Court has stated that the requirement of establishing […]

BLOG BULLETS: On the good side, a defendant can raise a Batson challenge even if the defendant isn’t the same race as the juror. On the bad side, Batson applies to defense challenges just like prosecution challenges. In addition, Batson isn’t limited to challenges of minority jurors; it’s been held to apply to any challenge […]

BLOG BULLETS: Batson requires an affirmative intent to discriminate, not just disparate impact. Disparate impact is simply evidence of discrimination. Still, some characteristics may be so closely tied to race that they serve as a surrogate for race under Batson.   NOW THE BLOG: In a related vein to my post last week, how are […]

BLOG BULLETS: Batson clearly prohibits discrimination based on race and gender, under the Supreme Court’s own decisions. Lower courts have rejected the extension of Batson to white ethnic groups such as Irish Americans and Italian Americans and have also rejected its extension to characteristics such as obesity, age, and long hair. The Ninth Circuit did […]

Federal magistrates seen as a strategic trial choice By America Hernandez Civil rights attorneys fed up with ever-shortening trial time limits in the Central District said they are increasingly considering stipulating to magistrates, who are able to give cases the time they deserve before jurors. Crushing caseloads and the need to prioritize criminal suits may […]

By Jeremiah Dobruck, PressTelegram Tuesday, October 11, 2016 EDITOR’S NOTE: Video contains violence and graphic language. A federal jury Friday awarded more than $1.6 million to two men who claimed Long Beach police beat them with batons and stomped on one of their hands without provocation, leaving them with broken bones and permanently disabling one […]