July 2018 - Federal Criminal Law Center

5th Circuit Court of Appeals Case, Highlights Important Lessons

Posted by Marcia Shein
On July 6, 2018
0 Comments
Appeals, Federal Appeals

5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Rejects Appeal From Death Row Inmate The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected an appeal from a death row inmate who participated in the “Texas 7” gang of escaped prisoners. Legal counsel for the man tried to argue to a court of law that evidence failed to establish that […]

What can be Reviewed in a Federal Criminal Appeal?

Posted by Marcia Shein
On July 6, 2018
0 Comments
Alabama Criminal Appeals, Federal Appeals

The Scope of Federal Criminal Appeals The United States Supreme Court recently declined to hear the appeal of a former militia leader who is convicted of conspiring to kill federal officials. The man’s appeal is just one of 150 petitions that the court rejected recently without explanation. The man, who was convicted of killing the […]

Understanding the Federal Death Row Appeal Process

Posted by Marcia Shein
On July 5, 2018
0 Comments
Alabama Criminal Appeals, death row, Federal Criminal Appeals

Appeals To Death Row Cases A man who was convicted and received the death penalty for beheading his three children recently initiated the federal appeal process. The man was previously re-tried in 2010 after an appeals court reversed his conviction and sentence, but he was again convicted of capital murder and still received the death […]

The Role of New Evidence in a Trial

Posted by Marcia Shein
On July 5, 2018
0 Comments
appeals process, DNA Evidence, Evidence

Supreme Court Case Denies Petition in Federal Criminal Trial The United States Supreme Court recently rejected a man’s petition for further DNA testing of a crime scene, which the man claims will establish his innocence. The man in question was convicted of a 1996 murder and sexual assault of a woman. In 2015, the man’s […]

Understanding Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Posted by Marcia Shein
On July 5, 2018
0 Comments
appeals process, deficient counsel, effective counsel, ineffective counsel

A man on Texas death row was recently allowed to move forward in a criminal appeal concerning whether the man’s legal counsel was deficient during the sentencing phase of a trial involving allegations that the man strangled and raped a 16-year-old in Waco in the late 1980s. As part of this ruling, two of three […]

Understanding the Defense of Coercion

Posted by Marcia Shein
On July 5, 2018
0 Comments
coercion, Criminal Defense, duress, necessity

The United States Supreme Court recently refused to hear a man’s challenge to a 2005 murder conviction, which he claimed was the result of coercion. This complicated case is documented in the Netflix series, “Making a Murderer.” A lower court of appeals upheld the man’s convictions for murder, sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse. […]