Articles Posted in U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court today issued one of the two dog cases on its docket, Florida v. Harris. Recall that we blogged on this case when it was accepted for review. In today’s unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court held that just because there are no performance records for how a dog does in the field, this…

Well it’s early October, a beautiful time of year here in Atlanta, and also the time when the United States Supreme Court kicks off its new “term.” There are a couple of cases of interest that the Supreme Court will decide in the upcoming term. I will focus on cases that impact our federal and…

In criminal trials throughout the United States, whether here in Atlanta or elsewhere, the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause protects defendants from being convicted based on out-of-court statements by people who never show up to testify. The Confrontation Clause means what it says, our clients can “confront” the evidence against them and prosecutors should not be…

We represent a lot of criminal defendants in federal courts, many here in Atlanta but also throughout Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and other states. Since 2005, such criminal defendants have had good luck in the United States Supreme Court when challenging various aspects of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. One more such success took place on…

This Monday the federal Supreme Court issued its opinion in Abbott v. United States, together with Gould v. United States. The Court held 8-0 (Justice Kagan took no part in the decision) that a defendant is subject to the highest mandatory minimum sentence specified in § 924(c) unless another provision of law directed to conduct…

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Davis v. United States. The Court will resolve a federal circuit court split: whether the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies to a search that is later ruled unconstitutional. This March, the Eleventh Circuit held in Davis that the exclusionary rule does not apply…

The United States Supreme Court announced last month that it will review a case involving the “exigent circumstances” exception to the Constitution’s requirement that the police get a search warrant before conducting a search or seizing property. We regularly confront similar matters when we litigate federal cases here in Georgia, Alabama and Florida and when…

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Dolan v. United States, resolving a circuit court split. This decision abrogates U.S. v. Maung, a 2001 Eleventh Circuit case that held that a federal court imposing a criminal sentence lacks the authority to enter a restitution order after the 90-day deadline has expired. The…

Last Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the Eleventh Circuit‘s decision in Holland v. Florida. The Court held, as have all Courts of Appeal, that the AEDPA‘s statute of limitations in habeas corpus cases is subject to equitable tolling. The Court further held that the Eleventh Circuit’s per se rule regarding when…

This morning, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Barber v. Thomas. In a 6-3 decision, the Court held that the calculation method used by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to determine the amount of “good time” earned on federal criminal sentences is lawful. The Court rejected two other methods for calculating good…