California Supreme Court reaffirms the constitutional right to pretrial release, requiring prosecutors to prove the necessity of detention by clear and convincing evidence and forbidding boilerplate denial-of-bail orders.
California Supreme Court holds that gang-enhancement and vicarious firearm-use findings cannot substitute for proof of personal malice in Senate Bill 1437 resentencing hearings, opening the door to new resentencing for aiders and abettors of gang-related killings.
On automatic appeal, the California Supreme Court unanimously affirms the convictions and death sentence of Cary Stayner for the 1999 Cedar Lodge murders of Carole Sund, her daughter Juli, and Silvina Pelosso. Justice Evans concurred and dissented in part.
First District partially reverses animal rights activist’s trespass convictions arising from open-rescue activities at Sonoma County poultry farms, holding the trial court erred by limiting evidence of the defendant’s good-faith mistake of law about the legality of his conduct under the
Case State of Ohio v. Darryl Brown Court Ohio Court of Appeals, First Appellate District (Hamilton County) Judge Zayas (elected
Case State of Ohio v. Demarius Jester Court Ohio Court of Appeals, First Appellate District (Hamilton County) Judge Kinsley (elected
Case State of Ohio v. Thurmell Maley Court Ohio Court of Appeals, First Appellate District Judge Zayas (elected 2016) Date
Case State of Minnesota v. Adam Taylor Fravel Court Minnesota Supreme Court Judge McKeig (Mark Dayton, 2016) Date Decided April
Second District holds that vacatur of a murder conviction under Penal Code section 1172.6 does not establish an “erroneous conviction” entitling the former defendant to compensation under section 4900, because Senate Bill 1437’s narrowing of murder liability was a legislative act o
Sixth District holds that trial courts lack inherent jurisdiction to correct unauthorized sentences after judgment becomes final, treats the appeal as a habeas petition, and orders the trial court to vacate a post-judgment resentencing that increased the defendant’s sentence.
Case Martin Monroe v. Commonwealth of Virginia Court Court of Appeals of Virginia Judge CLIFFORD L. ATHEY, JR. (elected 2019)
Case Johnson v. Commissioner of Correction Court Connecticut Appellate Court Judge Elgo (Dannel P. Malloy, 2017) Date Decided April 28,
Case Engage Armament LLC, et al. v. Montgomery County, Maryland Court Supreme Court of Maryland Judge Fader (Larry Hogan, 2022)
Case Miguel Angel Santana v. State of Maryland Court Supreme Court of Maryland Judge Eaves (Larry Hogan, 2022) Date Decided
Fourth District holds that a defendant’s appearance through counsel under Penal Code section 977 satisfies the appearance requirement for bail bond exoneration and that the trial court retained jurisdiction to award extradition costs after conditional exoneration.
Case In re: Criminal Investigation No. CID 18-2673 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City Court Supreme Court of Maryland
Case R. v. G.G. Court Supreme Court of Canada (Canada) Date Decided April 24, 2026 Citation 2026 SCC 12 Topics
First District holds that a probation condition allowing the probation department to incarcerate a defendant for up to 120 days without a court hearing improperly delegates judicial authority and that denying custody credit for residential treatment requires a knowing waiver under Penal Code section
Case Anonymous v. State of Israel and Another Court Supreme Court of Israel (Israel) Judge חאלד כבוב (Judicial Selection Committee
Case James Ernest Hitchcock v. State of Florida Court Supreme Court of Florida Judge Per Curiam Date Decided April 23,
Case State of Maine v. Jacob Miller Court Maine Supreme Judicial Court Judge Douglas (Janet Mills, 2023) Date Decided April
Second District holds that Penal Code section 3051 youth offender parole hearings are constitutional as applied to forcible sex offenders sentenced under section 667.6’s full consecutive sentence scheme, finding that section 3051 did not improperly amend Proposition 83 (Jessica’s Law).
Case State of Ohio v. Joshua Mounts Court Ohio Court of Appeals, First District Judge KINSLEY (elected 2022) Date Decided
Case State of North Dakota v. Jeffrey Jacob Simpson, Jr. Court Supreme Court of North Dakota Judge Fair McEvers (Jack