Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Watson, No. 13-30084 (9th Cir.) (792 F.3d 1173) (July 10, 2015) (Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld) by In 2004, Congress enacted the Innocence Protection Act (herein the “IPA”), which is codified in part at 18 U.S.C. § 3600, Essentially, the IPA allows Federal prisoners to move for court-ordered DNA …

Maryland v. King, No. 12-207 (U.S. Supreme Court) (569 U.S. 435; 133 S.Ct. 1958) (June 3, 2013) (Justice Kennedy) by In this landmark decision regarding the rights of the police to take DNA samples from arrestees, a bitterly divided majority held, by a 5-4 vote that: “When officers make an …

U.S. v. Pitera, No. 10-1564-cr (2nd Cir.) (675 F.3d 122) (April 3, 2012) (Judge Roger J. Miner) by The district court's denial of a prisoner's motion to compel postconviction DNA testing of six items pursuant to the Innocence Protection Act is affirmed, where the prisoner failed to show that the …

Friedman v. Boucher, No. 05-15675 (9th Cir.) (568 F.3d 1119) (June 23, 2009) (Judge Sidney R. Thomas) by In this case, a divided panel from the Ninth Circuit held that a Las Vegas prosecutor and a police detective were not entitled to the defense of qualified immunity in a civil …

In Re Grand Jury Proceeding, No. Redacted (D.N.M.) (455 F.Supp.2d 1281) (July 12, 2006) (Judge Robert C. Brack) by This ruling is noted for its informative analysis of some of the tensions between the Executive Branch’s right to conduct grand jury investigations and the Judiciary’s limited rights of oversight over …