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SCOTUS Holds “Hot Pursuit” for Misdemeanors Doesn’t Always Justify Warrantless Entry into Home

Constitutional Law Reporter

It held that, under the Fourth Amendment , the pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect does not always (or categorically) qualify as an exigent circumstance justifying a warrantless entry into a home. The State charged Lange with the misdemeanor of driving under the influence. California, 594 U.S. _ (2021) , the U.S.

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Can More Jury Trials Save the Justice System?

The Crime Report

justice system and reduce mass incarceration, argues a Washington and Lee University law professor. Expansion of the jury trial right would constitute a meaningful structural reform in democratizing criminal justice, at a time when such change is needed to establish the popular legitimacy of the criminal justice system,” writes J.D.

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Supreme Court Considers “Hot Pursuit” in Closely Watched Fourth Amendment Case

Constitutional Law Reporter

California , which involves whether police pursuits for misdemeanors justify a warrantless entry, an issue which has divided the lower courts. However, the Supreme Court’s exigent circumstances precedents have not yet addressed pursuits involving suspected misdemeanors, which are by far the most common basis for arrest.

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Locked and Loaded: Third Circuit Declares Federal Gun Law Unconstitutional Over Ex-Felon Rights

JonathanTurley

At issue was the federal “felon-in-possession” law—18 U.S.C. § The federal law makes it “unlawful for any person. However, when Range pleaded guilty in 1995, his conviction was classified as a Pennsylvania misdemeanor punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. 922(g)(1), which bars ex-felons from possession of firearms.

Laws 57
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Democratic Governor Calls For Criminalizing “Lying” About Election Results

JonathanTurley

Such a law would threaten political speech and create a chilling effect for those who want to raise such concerns in contested elections. ” He would make such comments a gross misdemeanor subject to incarceration. Such a criminal law would be ripe for abuse and would create a chilling effect that would be positively glacial.

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California Dreaming: Newsom’s Kidnapping Claim Against DeSantis is Long on Politics and Short on the Law

JonathanTurley

First, let’s look at the law. The California provision states that kidnapping involves someone who “abducts or takes by force or fraud any person contrary to the law of the place where that act is committed, and brings, sends, or conveys that person within the limits of this state.”

Laws 50
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Was Rittenhouse’s Possession of the AR-15 Unlawful?

JonathanTurley

In covering the motions hearing last week in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, I noted a surprising comment from Judge Bruce Schroeder that he had “spent hours” with the Wisconsin gun law and could not state with certainty what it means in this case. Criminal laws are supposed to be interpreted narrowly. 29.304 and 29.593.”

Statute 59