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Only 1 out of 5 defendants in this Mississippi county get court-appointed lawyers before indictment

ABA Journal

The right to counsel is “tenuous” in a small Mississippi justice court in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, where two judges appointed lawyers for felony defendants in…

Lawyer 104
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The Unfinished Business of Felony Murder

The Crime Report

In 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court abolished key aspects of its “felony murder rule,” the common law doctrine that made everyone involved in a felony that resulted in death guilty of first-degree murder—guilty even if they personally inflicted no violence and never intended to hurt anyone. The Rest of the Iceberg.

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California Supreme Court: prisoners must get lawyer when challenging convictions for killings committed by others

JURIST

The California Supreme Court held Monday that prisoners are entitled to a lawyer before a trial court can consider their record of conviction in determining whether the prisoners may challenge their murder convictions for killings committed by others. The new law in question was California Senate Bill No.

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Supreme Court hears arguments in firearms possession cases

JURIST

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in two cases involving one of its own precedents regarding felony firearms possession. The justices pushed Solicitor General Benjamin Snyder on what kinds of evidence an appellate court can use, and how far outside the trial court record they can go.

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New York Moves to Ease Arrest Disclosure Requirements by Would-Be Lawyers

The Crime Report

The proposal the bar is considering would have admissions and court personnel judge applicants based on adult convictions, not arrests or juvenile incarcerations. The Bar’s House of Delegates is scheduled to vote Jan.

Lawyer 98
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Lack of Oregon Public Defenders Leaves Hundreds of Defendants on Their Own

The Crime Report

Oregon has the equivalent of 600 full-time court-appointed attorneys, who have historically shouldered about 75,000 adult criminal cases a year. In Multnomah County, the court system delayed more than 700 unrepresented misdemeanor cases and 800 unrepresented felony cases from February through mid-August.

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Justice Jenkins praises criminal defense lawyer Dennis Riordan

At the Lectern

Criminal defense lawyer Dennis Riordan died two days ago at 73. ” Among many other honors, Riordan is one of only five attorneys inducted into the California Lawyers Association’s Appellate Lawyer Hall of Fame. .” ’ ‘He’d get a wry smile on his face. .’ A little twinkle in his eye.

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