by Marc Neff
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Affirms No Right to Counsel for DUI Chemical Testing
http://www.nefflawoffices.com/attorney-profile.phpThe right of a criminal defendant to have the assistance of counsel in his defense is granted in the Bill of Rights, via the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel differs from the Fifth Amendment right to counsel which is granted to a suspect via Miranda warnings. The Sixth Amendment right is...
by Marc Neff
Strip Search of Child by School Officials Found Excessively Intrusive by Supreme Court
In October of 2003, Savana Redding, a then 13-year old student at a rural Arizona middle school, was intrusively searched by school officials who suspected she was in possession of ibuprofen. Savana was called into the assistant principal’s office where she was presented with a day-planner; inside the day planner were a knife and other minor items of contraband. Savana admitted to owning the...
by Marc Neff
Supreme Court Holds Defendant has the Right to Cross-Examine Forensic Analysts in Criminal Trials
The Supreme Court of the United States held last week by a 5-4 majority, that a criminal defendant has the right to cross-examine forensic analysts under the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause. The ruling in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts requires Prosecutors who offer drug, blood, ballistic, or other forensic reports as evidence at trial to call the analyst who prepared the report to...
by Marc Neff
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Rules Accessing and Viewing Child Pornography over the Internet Constitutes Control under Sexual Abuse of Children Statute
Pennsylvania’s statute on Sexual Abuse of Children contains a provision which states: “it is illegal for an individual to knowingly possess or control any book, magazine, pamphlet, slide, photograph, film, videotape, computer depiction or other material depicting a child under the age of eighteen years engaging in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such act.” In 2003, Anthony...
by Marc Neff
Minnesota Legislature Interprets Federal Law to Allow States to Block Internet Gambling Sites, Raising First Amendment Concerns
A recent order by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, which would block access of residents to a list of gambling websites, has come under criticism for infringing upon First Amendment rights. The State of Minnesota published a seven page list of internet gambling web sites, which it then distributed to Internet Service Providers operating within the state and ordered the ISPs not to...
by Marc Neff
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Search of a Vehicle Following an Arrest Must be Reasonably Necessary and Related to the Offense
The Supreme Court of the United States recently overruled a long established precedent, found in New York v. Belton, which allowed police to search the passenger compartment of a vehicle and any containers therein as a contemporaneous incident of a recent occupant’s lawful arrest. In the case of Arizona v. Gant, Gant was stopped for a minor traffic violation. It was discovered by the officer...
by Marc Neff
Third Circuit Follows Olhovsky Decision with another Pro-Defense Opinion in Tomko – Ruling a Lenient Sentence Is Not Unreasonable
One day following the Third Circuit’s precedential opinion in U.S. v. Olhovsky, the Court issued an en banc decision in the case of U.S. v. Tomko, again holding that a lenient, below-guidelines sentence is not unreasonable if supported by mitigating circumstances. In Tomko, the Defendant pled guilty to Federal tax evasion charges; stipulating to a tax loss of $228,557 for work performed on...
by Marc Neff
Third Circuit Holds Government Contracted Psychologist May Be Subpoenaed To Testify Favorably For Defendant at Sentencing
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided the case of United States v. Olhovsky, ruling that the sentence imposed by the District Court upon the Defendant was unreasonable. Nicolau Olhovsky was sentenced to six years imprisonment after pleading guilty to charges of possessing child pornography. In 2004, an undercover law enforcement officer was investigating an Internet Relay Chat...
by Marc Neff
United States Supreme Court to Decide Whether Videos of Dog Figting, Other Forms of Animal Cruelty, Are Protected by the First Amendment’s Right of Free Speech
In Philadelphia last year, a Federal Appeals Court declared a rarely used law prohibiting the sale or possession of photos or videos of animals being maimed, mutilated, tortured, wounded, or killed, unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. The Federal law which was passed over a decade ago, was enacted to combat a growing underground trade involving videos which portray dog fights or the...
by Marc Neff