AH Datalytics has launched a “Real-Time” crime index, (RTCI), online. (access index). AH Datalytics launched the real-time crime index in an effort to “aid in the need for a faster understanding and visualization of national, state, and local crime trends.” AH Datalytics acknowledges certain crime data is under-reported to police and agencies can fail to provide complete or accurate information.
The United States Sentencing Commission releases new Quick Facts periodically, which give readers "basic facts about a single area of federal crime in an easy-top-read, two page format."
Quick Facts published in September include:
On October 14, 1964, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made history as the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize. At just 35 years old, Dr. King was recognized for his leadership and commitment to nonviolent resistance against racial injustice in America.
Mr. Roberson was convicted in 2002 of killing his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. At trial, the prosecution argued that the manner of death was “shaken baby syndrome,” a condition never scientifically validated. Per the Innocence Project, “Mr. Roberson’s case is riddled with unscientific evidence, inaccurate and misleading medical testimony, and prejudicial treatment.”
With warrant, Cleveland police searched a suspected drug dealer's house. Out on the street, an officer peers into the tinted windows of a car of a person found in the suspected dealer's home—but the car was not mentioned in the warrant—and sees what he suspects is a "bag of dope." Officers tow the car but don't get a warrant. Turns out it, indeed, was "dope." Man: the search of my car is unconstitutional because police need a warrant. Police: we don't need a warrant because drugs were in plain view and here's a video of officers peering into the car and the photo taken inside the car.
Arkansas man on parole absconds and law enforcement get a tip he's staying at a friend's place and dealing drugs. They arrest him leaving the house and then search the house without a warrant. Plenty of contraband found. Yikes! Man: this violates my rights because no probable cause to believe I live there. Suppress the evidence Gov't: there's reasonable suspicion, if not probable cause. District court: No probable cause, evidence suppressed.
Mother of minor children named as victims in an indictment testified that she believed her children and that her children wouldn’t “lie about anything like this.” You don't see many plain-error rulings that invalidate triple life sentences, but the Tenth Circuit takes the opportunity to remind us that you really super-duper can't have one witness vouch and testify that she believes other witnesses are telling the truth. No excuse for this. Conviction vacated. New trial.
Lansing, Mich. cop sees man passed out at the wheel of a running car early in the morning after a blizzard. Without knocking opens the driver's door to check. Man wakes up. Cop asks for ID. Things escalate quickly and cop finds a whole lot of bags of drugs and a gun. Man: Unreasonable search and the community caretaker exception does not apply. District court. Not unreasonable. Motion to dismiss denied. Here's a 204-month sentence.
If prosecutors don't turn over potentially exculpatory evidence and a person on death row finds out about it (by accident) years later, does that mean he gets a new trial? Well, explains the Fourth Circuit over the course of 102 pages, it depends.
The case is Juniper v. Davis, No. 21-00009 (4th Cir. July 19, 2023).
Group of folks were smoking pot outside a Washington, D.C. apartment building. Officer stops and sees one guy back away and raise his hands. Cop: "Just making sure there's no guns, that's it." Show me your waistband. Guy: "No. I'm cool" and shows waistband. Cop: Noticing some bulges, says "lift your shirt again" and nodded at another cop who just arrived to approach guy. Man: Runs away, throws gun in bushes, is arrest and charged with felon in possession. Guy: that was an illegal seizure! District court: No, it wasn't!