You’ve no doubt heard about digital devices from outfits like Nest or Amazon Echo or Google Home that allow you remotely to control your thermostat or your lights and blinds or take video of the goings-on in your yard or on your porch. Perhaps you’ve also heard about the case in Arkansas in which the prosecution was seeking audio from the defendant’s Amazon Echo to determine if it contained evidence about his culpability for a murder. (If you haven’t, see here and here.) While in that case the data were turned over after the defendant and Amazon dropped their objections, it’s only a matter of time before you have a case where you’ll be wondering whether the Fourth Amendment provides a shield to the data collected by your client’s “smart home” device. This new piece from the Harvard Law Review will give you a place to start developing your litigation strategy.
That’s what Judicata is saying about its new legal research service. It claims to be “mapping the legal genome.” Read more about it here.
Ever wonder what they are like? Check out this new report on two such centers in Georgia. Warning: Viewer discretion advised.
Such a popular topic! a new paper, by Jordan Hyatt of Drexel University, and Steven Chanenson of Villanova University School of Law, surveys judges and stakeholders across the nation. Read it here.
Click here to The Sentencing Project’s new report, “Still Life: America’s Increasing Use of Life and Long-term Sentences.”
State v. Jason Napiwocki, 2016AP1264-CR, 5/4/17, District 4 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The circuit court didn’t erroneously exercise its discretion when it issued a final restitution order that adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the court commissioner who conducted the restitution hearing. [continue reading…]
State v. Eugene B. Santiago, 2016AP1267, District 2, 5/3/17 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including state’s brief)
Santiago’s trial lawyer missed a charging error that led to an overstatement of the penalties Santiago faced; this failure doesn’t allow Santiago to withdraw his plea, however, because he fails to sufficiently allege that he would not have entered a plea if his lawyer had caught the mistake. [continue reading…]
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