by Marc Neff
Government Must Present Evidence of File Sharing for Distribution of Child Pornography
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has recently reviewed the case of United States of America v. David George Husmann. The case involved the distribution of child pornography. The defendant had allegedly placed various images of child pornography in a shared computer folder connected to a file sharing network. At trial, a jury convicted the defendant of three counts of...
by Marc Neff
Third Circuit Court of Appeals Finds Probable Cause to Search Fugitive’s Vehicle
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has recently decided the case of United States v. Donohue. The case was a result of a government appeal from the grant of a motion to suppress physical evidence. Mr. Donohue was a fugitive and was apprehended while he entered his son’s automobile. The police proceeded to conduct an extensive and lengthy search of the vehicle, ultimately...
by Marc Neff
Supreme Court Says Phones Can’t Be Searched Without a Warrant
The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously ruled that the police need warrants to search the cell phones of people they arrest after having reviewed two separate cases. Traditionally, the courts have long allowed warrantless searches in connection with arrests, saying they are justified by the need to protect police officers and to prevent the destruction of evidence. However, in the...
by Marc Neff
Pennsylvania Court Rules No Notice Needed For Use of Blood Sample for Criminal Proceedings
During the evening of October 22, 2008, Daniel Roger Smith, consumed approximately eight beers while watching the Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the World Series. He finished drinking at 11:00 or 11:30 that night and went to bed. He awoke the next morning and, apparently feeling no ill effects from his drinking the night before, drove himself to work. Around 11:00...
by Marc Neff
Third Circuit Rules that Contraband Found in Shared Cell is Sufficient to Warrant Loss of Good Time Credits
In Denny v. Schultz, No. 11-1450 (3d Cir. Feb. 15, 2013), the Third Circuit considered the question of what limit the Due Process Clause places on the constructive possession theory in the prison context. Inmate Denny shared a cell with one other inmate. During a routine search of the cell, a corrections officer found two metal shanks located in the duct work of a ceiling vent. The duct was...
by Marc Neff
Police Can Record Video Inside Your Home Without A Warrant
In United States v. Wahchumwah, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 24296 (9th Cir. Nov. 27, 2012), Defendant contended that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when an undercover agent who was invited into his home used a concealed audio-video device to record an illegal transaction defendant conducted in his home. United States Fish and Wildlife Service agents began an undercover investigation of...
by Marc Neff
Supreme Court Reiterates the Duty of the Prosecution to Disclose All Potentially Exculpatory Evidence
The Supreme Court of the United States decided the landmark case of Brady v. Maryland in 1963. 373 U.S. 83. While the Brady doctrine stemming from this case is nuanced and has been addressed many times over the past few decades – at its core, Brady imposes a duty upon the prosecution to turn over to the defense in a criminal trial all evidence which tends to cast doubt upon a...
by Marc Neff
Coach who Taped His Female Wrestlers Weighing In on a Scale Is Guilty of Attempted Sexual Exploitation
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided the case of United States of America, Appellant, v. Scott Johnson, Appellee, an appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. A jury had found Scott Johnson guilty of eight counts of attempted sexual exploitation of children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251, after he secretly videotaped...
by Marc Neff
PA Superior Court Rejects Random Searches of Home as Condition of Probation
In the recently decided case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Alexander, No. 2555 EDA 2008, 2011 WL 941191, 2011 PA Super 54 (March 18, 2011), the PA Superior Court considered whether a condition of the defendant’s probation which subjected him to random searches of his residence violated his rights under both the federal and Pennsylvania Constitutions. The defendant had entered an open...
by Marc Neff