State v. Singleton — Disruptive pro se defendant was properly removed
The Court of Appeals upheld removal of a persistently disruptive self-represented defendant and continuation of trial without imposed standby counsel.
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Constitutional Law
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State v. Sandoval — Interpreter delay did not justify dismissing charges
The Court of Appeals reinstated charges because diligent efforts to find Spanish interpreters and no specific defense prejudice defeated the speedy-trial claim.
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Wyoming v. WEA — School funding model partly unconstitutional
The Wyoming Supreme Court held that outdated teacher-salary and inflation funding violated equal protection, but narrowed the trial court’s broader school-funding remedies.
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State v. Davis — Uninvestigated juror communication requires new trial
The Court of Appeals reversed a murder conviction because the trial court failed to question a juror after credible evidence of discussions with an outsider.
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SC Public Interest Foundation v. Oconee County — Bond challenge was filed too late
The South Carolina Supreme Court held that a challenge to the authorized use of county bond proceeds was subject to section 11-15-30’s twenty-day filing deadline.
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ACLU v. Wilson — Public execution-team information falls outside secrecy law
The South Carolina Supreme Court held that the execution-secrecy statute does not cover public or nonconfidential identifying information and does not punish its later repetition.
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State v. Manges — Court restores alleged victim’s testimony
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed an order barring an alleged victim from testifying, holding that a missing interview recording caused no demonstrated substantial prejudice and no due-process violation without police bad faith.
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Fitzmaurice — SJC blocks Quincy’s planned Catholic saint statues
The Massachusetts SJC preserved an injunction against Quincy’s saint statues and reaffirmed the state-specific Article 3 framework for government religious displays.
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Emerald Necklace Conservancy — SJC clears White Stadium redevelopment
The Massachusetts SJC held that White Stadium was no longer Article 97 parkland because pre-1972 legislation had converted the parcel to a school facility.
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Hempel — Appeals Court Vacates Convictions Over Invalid Counsel Waiver
The Massachusetts Appeals Court vacated convictions because the defendant took over core trial advocacy without a knowing and intelligent waiver of counsel under article 12.
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Solis and Diaz — SJC Upholds Delayed Cell Phone Warrants
The Massachusetts SJC held that 109- and 123-day delays in seeking cell phone search warrants were reasonable under article 14’s totality-of-the-circumstances test.
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Warren Livestock v. Albany County — Supreme Court Upholds Aquifer Protection Overlay Zone and Extends Arbitrary-and-Capricious Review to All Agency Rulemaking
The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed Albany County’s 2023 amendments to its Aquifer Protection Overlay Zone — including a 35-acre minimum lot size within the Casper Aquifer recharge area — holding that counties may use general zoning authority under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 18-5-201 to protect groundwater without displacing WDEQ’s water quality jurisdiction. The court also established, for the first time in a published Wyoming opinion, that the arbitrary and capricious standard of review applies to all agency legislative action (rulemaking) under WAPA, resolving a gap left open by Bienz v. Board of County Commissioners, 2024 WY 102. Justice Hill dissented on authority, arguing the EQA grants WDEQ exclusive jurisdiction over water quality regulation.
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People v. Jones
The Second Department affirmed a murder conviction despite a Confrontation Clause violation in fingerprint evidence, finding the error harmless because the testifying detective independently reached the same conclusions.
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People v. Garcia
The Second Department affirmed a weapon possession conviction, holding that the Bruen decision did not invalidate New York’s criminal possession of a weapon statutes and addressing Confrontation Clause and Sandoval issues.