BLOG BULLETS: There’s a recent Ninth Circuit case – United States v. Santos-Flores, 794 F.3d 1088 (9th Cir. 2015) – that confirms holdings in prior district court cases that the possibility – or actuality – of an ICE detainer can’t be used as a ground for denying bail. The Ninth Circuit case also cites one […]

BLOG BULLETS: Remember the new DOJ policy adopted in August 2013 that 21 U.S.C. § 851 enhancements should be sought only if “the defendant is involved in conduct that makes the case appropriate for severe sanctions.” A second memorandum, issued a year later, makes clear that this policy applies regardless of whether the defendant pleads […]

By CINDY CHANG The family of a 23-year-old man who committed suicide in Men’s Central Jail will receive $1.6 million from Los Angeles County to settle a lawsuit alleging that jail officials did not properly diagnose his mental illness. Austin Losorelli, the son of an LAPD lieutenant, told jail mental health workers that he was […]

By MAURA DOLAN Two men wrongfully imprisoned for decades may hold Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives and a deputy liable for failing to disclose evidence that pointed toward their innocence, a federal appeals panel unanimously decided Wednesday. In a decision written by Judge Raymond C. Fisher, a Clinton appointee, the three-judge panel said the law […]

9th Circuit: Failure to disclose evidence leaves LA County open to litigation By L.J. Williamson Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who are facing lawsuits by men who were wrongly imprisoned for decades are not entitled to qualified immunity, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Wednesday. Plaintiffs Frank O’Connell and Francisco Carillo Jr. […]

BLOG BULLETS: A recent Ninth Circuit opinion – United States v. Sanchez-Gomez – invalidates a Southern District of California United States Marshal policy of shackling all defendants at most court appearances in five-point restraints. The opinion distinguishes and limits the prior Ninth Circuit opinion in United States v. Howard that allowed some shackling at some […]

BLOG BULLETS: See below. I stopped with the SAFE Act’s sentencing provisions in my last post because just those alone justified a full post – actually, more than a full post.  There’s also some encouraging trial provisions in the Act, though.  The Act is linked again here, and you should peruse it yourself, but here’s […]

BLOG BULLETS:  See below.   In a post last March that I called “We Can Keep on Dreaming” (see it in the March 2015 link at the right), I talked about two bills introduced in Congress called the “Smarter Sentencing Act” and the “Justice Safety Valve Act of 2015” which would have dramatically cut mandatory […]

BLOG BULLETS: The Ninth Circuit has held in multiple cases that it’s not an abuse of discretion for district courts to admit agent “expert” testimony that drug traffickers never use “blind mules.” Two recent unpublished Ninth Circuit opinions raise doubt about this testimony, by revealing information in the government’s possession that “blind mules” do exist […]

BLOG BULLETS: A recent Supreme Court decision – Mellouli v. Lynch, 135 S. Ct. 1980 (2015) – held a state drug conviction didn’t qualify as a controlled substance offense under immigration law because the state controlled substance schedules included substances not included in the federal controlled substance schedules. This is essentially the same holding reflected […]