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US Supreme Court declines to hear case regarding jury size in felony trials

JURIST

The United States Supreme Court Monday denied the appeal of Ramin Khorrami, an Arizona man who was convicted of fraud before an eight-member jury. Six states in the US allow for trials before six or eight-person juries in felony cases: Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts and Utah.

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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.

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Federal appeals court upholds Florida law requiring felons to pay debts before voting

JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld a 2019 Florida law that prevents felons from voting until they pay their legal financial obligations of fines, fees, and restitution. The court held that the voting requirement did not unconstitutionally discriminate against low-income women of color.

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Three men plead guilty to charges related to Jan. 6 US Capitol attack

JURIST

The individuals include Florida man Mitchell Todd Gardner II, Troy Sargent of Massachusetts, and Nathaniel DeGrave of Nevada. . Court documents indicate Gardner joined other individuals in confronting “law enforcement officers on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol.”

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A Man May Serve Life in Prison for Cops Killing Another Cop

The Crime Report

Jagger Freeman has been convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison because of New York’s felony murder law, a legal concept that broadens the crime of murder to include those who set into motion a series of events that lead to a person’s death, regardless of their intent, The Gothamist reports.

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States Increase Efforts to End ‘Internal Exile’ of Former Incarcerees: Report

The Crime Report

Arizona also repealed a law authorizing suspension of driver’s licenses for failure to pay and authorized its courts to redesignate some felonies as misdemeanors, the report details. . The CCRC researchers note that these states have been “equally unproductive in 2020 and 2019” as well.

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Can Americans Keep Their Guns Safe?

The Crime Report

Kirby Boyce hopes 80, 239 people in Massachusetts – and ultimately a majority of people across the state and the country – agree with him on the need for safer gun storage. My motivation wasn’t just Massachusetts,” Boyce told The Crime Report. “I Photo by Suzy Tolen via Flickr. Boyce believes the time is right. Messaging vs Law.