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  • 2022
    • July
      • Fighting Google Keyword Warrants
    • May
      • Third Circuit Court of Appeals rules defendant had no standing to raise a Carpenter claim.
      • Three new cases coming up that will affect Carpenter litigation, all in Massachusetts.
      • Middle District of Tennessee holds Iphones in plain view can be seized during a lawful arrest or encounter.
      • Northern District of Georgia invokes good faith exception re: CSLI based on court order due to binding 11th Circuit precedent.
      • Seventh Circuit holds garage door opener is not to be treated like cell phone for Fourth Amendment purposes.
      • New York Supreme Court finds probable cause existed despite lack of application for a warrant.
    • April
      • Number 10 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Appellate Court Case of People v. M
      • U.S. Supreme Court Holds Defendants Sentenced on Mandatory Minimum Ineligible for Later Sentencing Reductions Based on Reduction
      • Seventh Circuit Orders Limited Remand in Light of United States v. Dean
      • Seventh Circuit Upholds 924(C) Conviction Where Gun Sales Were Discussed Before Marijuana Sales.
      • Seventh Circuit Finds Ineffective Assistance of Trial and Appellate Counsel for Failure to Object to Instruction on Use of Force
      • Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Vagueness Challenge to Statute Banning Child Sex Offenders From Loitering Within 500 Feet of a Sc
      • Second District Appellate Court Permits Witness’ Prior Armed Robbery With a Firearm Conviction to Argue That His (And the Defend
      • The United States Supreme Court Will Be Delving Into the “Automobile Exception” to the Warrant Requirement of the Fourth Amendme
  • 2020
    • August
      • New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Defendants Can Be Compelled to Turn Over Phone Passcodes
    • May
      • Some Words of Wisdom From a Titan Who Sadly Just Left Us.
    • April
      • Bill Wolf files his appearance as counsel for the defense on behalf of CTA homicide suspect Fajour Hodges
    • February
      • Minnesota’s Legislature Is Considering a Ban on the Use of Facial Recognition Software.
    • January
      • According to the Feds, Apple Needs to Cooperate When One Does Not Give Up Their Passcode.
      • Seventh Circuit Affirms Sentence for Illegal Reentry That Was Double the Sentencing Guidelines Recommendation.
      • 7th Circuit Reverses Dist. Court’s Refusal to Consider Re-Sentencing Based on Amendment 782 to the Guidelines
  • 2019
    • December
      • Number 4 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Appellate Court Case of People v. Ma
      • Number 5 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Appellate Court Case of People v. Ba
      • Number 6 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Appellate Court Case of People v. Jo
      • Number 7 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Appellate Court Case of People v. Da
      • Number 8 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Appellate Court Case of People v. Mu
      • Number 9 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Appellate Court Case of People v. Mc
      • Illinois Appellate Court Finds Sighting of Gun Along With Information Re: Gang Shootings Justifies Terry Stop. Also Holds That L
      • Number 3 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Supreme Court Case of People v. Manz
      • Chat App “Totok” Has Been Identified as a Surveillance Tool
      • Number 2 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Supreme Court Case of People v. Euba
      • Honorable Mention for the “Top Ten Fourth Amendment Cases” for Illinois Criminal Defense Lawyers
      • Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” 4th Amendment Cases Decided in the Year 2019
    • October
      • James Baimbridge Releases Piece Through Marshall Project on the Gps Monitoring of People
    • August
      • Electronic Frontier Foundation Is Suing the United States for Information Regarding the Warrantless Use of Gps Devices
      • Texas Court of Appeals reverses murder conviction based on Carpenter violation.
      • Great Article From reason.com About User App Data and How Easy It Is for Law Enforcement to Get It
      • The Law Office of William Wolf urges rejection of ABA Resolution 114 by the House of Delegates.
      • Northern District of West Virginia Finds No Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Failure to Predict Carpenter in Advance, and Th
      • Massachusetts High Court Rejects Idea That Gps Monitoring of All Defendants Convicted of a Sex Offense Is Reasonable
      • Northern District of Georgia Again Invokes Good Faith Exception on Tower Dump Case
      • Massachusetts High Court Holds Denial of Motion to Suppress Gps Location Data Proper Where Defendant Had Device as a Condition o
      • Illinois Supreme Court Holds Entry Into Store During Business Hours for Purposes of Committing a Theft Constitutes Burglary
      • E.D. N.y. Orders Suppression Hearing on Issue of Search of Company Documents, Using Justice Gorsuch’s Property Analysis From Car
      • California Appellate Court Holds (Unpublished) That There Is No Legitimate Expectation of Privacy in Real-Time Cell Site Locatio
      • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Third Party Doctrine Does Not Apply to the Defendant’s Blood.
      • Airbnb Loses Its Fight to Keep Its Records Private From New York City
    • July
      • First Circuit Holds Precise Location Information Warrants Are Not Subject to Federal Tracking Device Statute
      • Vermont District Court Holds Ip Address Governed by the Third-Party Doctrine
      • Eastern District of Missouri Finds Search Warrant for Csli to Be Proper
      • 9th Circuit Holds That Warrantless Tracking of a Parolee Is Permissible and That the Good Faith Exception Saved Warrantless Csli
      • 7th Circuit Decides Border Search of Electronic Device Was Backed by Reasonable Suspicion
      • New York Supreme Court (Bronx) Denies Motion to Suppress, Finding That There Was Probable Cause at the Time and That It Was Only
      • Minnesota District Court holds warrant for pen register was thin, but backed by probable cause.
      • Massachusetts High Court finds Defendant does not have 5th Amendment to prevent the Defendant from being forced to unlock his ph
      • Montana District Court decides trap and trace order satisifies requirements of a search warrant
      • Massachusetts District Court holds Carpenter does not apply to subpoena for financial records
      • Eastern District of Michigan finds no ineffective assistance of counsel in 2255 petition for pre-Carpenter failure to make motio
      • Fourth Circuit Decides Ineffective Assistance Was Not Established for Failure to File Motion to Suppress
      • Indiana Supreme Court, on Remand From U.S. Supreme Court, Rules Against Defendant Finding Harmless Error
      • District Court of Arizona Finds Subscriber Information From Internet Service Provider Covered by Third Party Doctrine
      • Western District of Tennessee Magistrate Judge decides that Carpenter does not apply retroactively
      • Massachusetts District Court finds exigent circumstances to defeat motion to suppress based on warrantless retrieval of real-tim
      • Ninth Circuit reverses District Court’s finding that law enforcement officers did not act in good faith. Judge McKeown dissents
      • E.D. New York denies motion to suppress invoking good faith exception
      • Northern District of California declines to suppress search warrant based on non-good faith retrieval of Real-time CSLI, finding
      • District Court of Massachusetts rejects argument that Carpenter provides additional protections for email correspondence
      • Northern District of Ohio invokes third-party doctrine, permitting administrative subpoena for internet service provider subscri
      • S.D. Georgia finds that Stored Communications Act order that is backed by probable cause is permissible substitute for a search
      • Western District of Louisiana holds that defendant’s computer IP address is covered by the third party doctrine.
      • Minnesota District Court finds exigent circumstances for warrantless real-time CSLI.
      • New York State Appellate Court holds Riley v. California does not apply to opening of Defendant’s cell phone’s battery case.
      • Second Circuit invokes good faith exception regarding CSLI
      • 7th Circuit rules against defendant in “tower dump” case.
    • June
      • An interesting piece that theorizes that violent crime has gone down with the advent of cell phones.
    • May
      • California appellate court finds no ineffective assistance in failure to anticipate Carpenter decision in murder prosecution.
      • Northern District of Georgia invokes good faith exception regarding cell tower dump.
      • Hawaii District Court invokes good faith exception despite lack of Ninth Circuit precedent.
      • Northern District of Georgia decides computer Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses are not covered by Carpenter.
      • California Appellate Court upholds searches of devices as valid condition of probation.
      • Seventh Circuit holds that violating geographic limitations of GPS warrant not cognizable under Fourth Amendment.
      • W.D. Missouri finds good faith exception applies despite no binding precedent in Circuit.
      • E. Dist of New York grants motion to dismiss on Fourth Amendment based Section 1983 lawsuit.
      • Indiana Court of Appeals finds exigent circumstances in review of real-time CSLI Fourth Amendment challenge.
      • E.D. Michigan rejects 2255 Petition based on ineffective assistance of counsel.
      • The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers releases a new “compelled decryption” primer for criminal defense lawyers.
      • Third Circuit finds good faith exception applies to defeat Carpenter claim.
      • Nebraska Supreme Court finds good faith exception applies to defeat Carpenter claim.
      • Nebraska Supreme Court finds good faith exception applies to defeat Carpenter claim.
      • E.D. Louisiana holds that civil motion to quash cell phone records subpoena based on Carpenter to be frivolous.
      • Oregon District Court holds eBay records fall within the third-party doctrine.
    • April
      • E.D. Michigan holds Riley and Carpenter are irrelevant to discovery requests for social media information.
      • Texas Court of Appeals finds no expectation of privacy in real time location information based on short duration of search.
      • New York Sup. Ct. denies Carpenter motion on grounds of no reasonable expectation of privacy in Defendant’s work (police dept.)
      • Second Circuit finds Internet and pornography bans as conditions for supervised release improper.
      • Middle District of Tennessee finds bank location records to be covered by third party doctrine and also invokes good faith excep
      • N.D. of California denies application for search warrant to seize and compel opening of a cell phone finding 4th Amendment and 5
      • Massachusetts Superior Court rejects ineffective assistance of counsel claim on appeal.
      • 6th Circuit rejects appellate Carpenter claim finding no plain error.
      • California Appellate Court denies Carpenter claim where Defendant sent message to “friend” who was really undercover officer.
      • Northern District of Illinois invokes good faith exception to defeat Carpenter claim.
      • New Jersey Appellate Court rejects Carpenter claim on appeal.
      • 11th Circuit holds that Carpenter claims are not cognizable on successive petitions for 2255 relief.
      • Illinois Appellate Court Second District applies Fourth Amendment to civil discovery order to inspect a landfill
      • Southern District of New York grants injunctive relief for Air B & B and Homeaway regarding ordinance requiring disclosure of cu
      • Eastern District of PA holds Defendant has no standing to raise objections to the co-defendants’ CSLI and that binding 3rd Circu
      • Michigan Court of Appeals holds there’s no ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to suppress real-time CSLI pre-Carpente
      • Middle District of Tennessee finds administrative subpoenas to be sufficient to get Kik Account data and IP information without
      • U.S. District Court for Nebraska denies Carpenter motion finding internet service provider’s report to NCMEC was a private searc
      • Indiana appellate court upholds warrantless retrieval of real-time CSLI based on exigent circumstances
      • Ohio appellate court holds that it is too late to bring a Carpenter violation to the court’s attention in the appellate reply br
      • Western District of New York invokes good faith and waiver, stating that bring a Carpenter claim at post-trial motions is too la
      • Western District of New York invokes good faith and waiver, stating that bring a Carpenter claim at post-trial motions is too la
      • Western District of New York invokes good faith and waiver, stating that bring a Carpenter claim at post-trial motions is too la
      • Fourth Circuit invokes exigent circumstances for seizure of cell phones from the defendant at the police station and the good fa
    • January
      • California appellate court admits text messages despite lack of probable cause through independent discovery doctrine and affirm
      • District Court finds intrusion upon seclusion and invasion of privacy claims survive summary judgment when defendant (allegedly)
      • Texas Court of Appeals holds that search of contraband cell phone in halfway house was reasonable.
      • Maryland Federal District Court upholds search warrant for Twitter account and holds CSLI is admissible pursuant to good faith e
      • Maryland District Judge denies habeas relief for Government use of Stingray, conflating the device with third party CSLI.
      • Minnesota District Court finds search warrants for cell tower dumps were proper.
      • District Court for New Mexico holds that Carpenter does not apply to telephone subscriber information.
      • E.D. Michigan invokes 6th Circuit Carpenter decision to defeat Carpenter claim at post-trial motions.
      • 11th Circuit denies plain error claim where detention hearing made clear law enforcement had a warrant for phone records.
      • Motion to suppress search warrant findings on first post-Carpenter Instagram case denied.
      • S. Dist. California finds Yahoo and Facebook investigations to be private searches in child exploitation prosecution. Also finds
      • Maryland District Court applies principles of Jones and Carpenter to the tort of intrusion upon seclusion.
      • U.S. District Court for Middle District of Tennessee rules that officers can seize a phone incident to a lawful narcotics arrest
      • N.Y. Supreme Court decides pen register order supported by probable cause permitted CSLI acquisition.
      • Southern District of New York invokes good faith exception to a pre-Carpenter CSLI acquisition.
      • Texas Court of Appeals upholds warrant for contents of phone recovered during narcotics traffic stop.
      • Nebraska District Court holds Motel Guest Registries are governed by the third-party doctrine and remain unaffected by Carpenter
      • E.D. PA finds no ineffective assistance on Carpenter claim based on standing.
      • Houston District Court finds bad faith where Government obtained warrant for information they already had.
      • S.D. of N.Y. invokes good faith exception because Stored Communications Act was not “clearly unconstitutional.”
      • E.D. PA finds no ineffective assistance on Carpenter claim based on standing.
      • Northern District of Indiana finds that real-time CSLI acquistion was made in good faith.
      • Delaware District Court finds no standing to contest search of CSLI data for the phone known as “heroin phone.”
      • Houston District Court finds bad faith where Government obtained warrant for information they already had.
      • I received papers in the mail saying I’ve been indicted by a Grand Jury after I won my case at a Preliminary Hearing. This must
      • Bill Wolf Will Be Speaking at the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Forensic Conference on March 1
      • What happens after one gets arrested in Illinois for a warrant from another State?
      • N.p.r. Details Expansion Of, and Problems With “Ballistic Fingerprint” Database.
  • 2018
    • December
      • Are Russia and China listening to your phone calls?
      • I don’t need a lawyer because I’m innocent, right?
      • What can you expect from your criminal defense lawyer in conversations when you have questions?
    • November
      • A Disturbing Feature Which Demonstrates What Lengths Prosecutors Will Go to to Avoid Dna Testing.
      • Vocal Risk Assessment Is a Junk Science That Might Catch On Anyway.
      • Washington Post Features 50 Year Old Murder “Solved” Through Dna Testing.
      • Arizona Is Using Faulty Forensics to Try to Execute a Man That They Have No Business Keeping In Custody, Much Less Killing.
      • An interesting piece regarding law enforcement use of Network Information Technique
    • October
      • 10th Circuit remands cases back to District Court after Supreme Court remand.
      • Minnesota District Court invokes good faith exception to deny Carpenter relief.
      • Third District Appellate Court Reverses Sex Offender Registration Conviction
      • Nevada District Court seemingly expands the good faith exception to deny Carpenter relief.
      • E.D. Michigan cites Carpenter to hold that a spreadsheet is an admissible business record
      • Georgia Appellate Court reverses and remands for more hearings regarding scope of consent to search a phone.
      • Southern District of Georgia invokes good faith exception to deny a motion for a new trial.
      • Viriginia Court of Appeals, after remand from the United States Supreme Court, invokes good faith exception to deny Carpenter re
      • California Court of Appeals affirms search of computers and electronic devices as valid condition of probation.
      • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals orders briefing schedule on case remanded by U.S. Supreme Court.
      • What is an appeal of a conviction and sentence and how does the process work?
      • Facebook has your location data, when will they give it to law enforcement?
      • E.D. of Wisconsin sanctions law enforcement’s use of your neighbor’s property to install surveillance cameras.
      • The Third Party doctrine and Carpenter are colliding with DNA identifications.
      • A New York Criminal Court weighs in on the first post-Carpenter Instagram case.
      • 5th Circuit rules Internet Protocol addresses fall within third party doctrine.
      • The need for the criminal defense lawyer to understand “the internet of things” is highlighted by the New York Times.
      • Kansas District Court grants Motion to Suppress based on search warrant for Facebook information.
      • What happens when the Government orders Amazon or Facebook to turn your camera on?
      • E.D. Penn. District Court invokes pre-existing Third Circuit precedent to invoke good faith exception.
      • Texas Panel Faults Forensic Scientist for Overstating Findings.
      • What is a State Post-Conviction Petition and how does the process work?
      • Federal Government advocates legality of G.P.S. tracking at the border.
      • Federal Government advocates legality of G.P.S. tracking at the border.
      • Law enforcement claims they solved murder case through Fitbit data.
      • Feds compel use of facial recognition from suspect to open I Phone X
      • N. Y. Supreme Court, App. Division finds exigent circumstances for real-time CSLI
      • NY. District Court, following Zodhiates decision, invokes good faith exception to defeat Carpenter claim.
    • September
      • What is discovery in a criminal case and how does it work into a case?
      • Northern District of Illinois invokes good faith exception.
      • Delaware Court Grants Motion to Suppress CSLI
      • Second Circuit finds good faith exception applies in case U.S. Supreme Court ordered remanded in light of Carpenter.
      • New York Times features Opinion Piece on the Dangers of DNA Testing
      • I have more than one felony case. If I am found guilty on both, and I am sentenced to prison, can I serve both sentences at the
      • This piece of fiction is worth reading for criminal defense lawyers who protect the 4th Amendment
      • A prosecutor’s take on Carpenter v. United States.
      • Texas Court of Appeals orders remand on Carpenter claim in capital murder case.
      • Florida Court of Appeals orders new trial and suppression of CSLI, rejecting good faith argument.
      • Florida Appellate Court affirms use of CSLI order based on finding of probable cause, but also affirmed suppression of Stingray
      • Florida Appellate Court affirms use of CSLI order based on finding of probable cause, but also affirmed suppression of Stingray
      • 4th Circuit again denies Carpenter claim based on good faith exception.
      • Massachusetts Supremes finds probable cause in affidavit for search warrant for cell site location information.
      • E. D. Penn. denies Carpenter claim based on good faith exception.
      • U.S. Dist. Ct. for E.D. Michigan finds good faith exception applies, defeating Carpenter claim.
      • 7th Circuit finds good faith applies despite the lack of any binding Circuit precedent.
      • California Appellate Court holds searches of smartphones are a proper condition of parole.
      • U.S. Dist. Ct. for E.D. Wisconsin holds Carpenter does not apply to installed surveillance cameras.
      • Indiana Appellate Court upholds 5th Amendment privilege in response to court ordering unlocking of phone
      • District Court for E.D. WI holds that pole camera surveillance of Defendant’s residence does not constitute a search.
      • Second Circuit decides another Carpenter case, seemingly expanding the good faith doctrine.
      • District Court of Connecticut finds good faith despite lack of controlling precedent in the Circuit.
      • 7th Circuit decides collection of electricity data constitutes a search and rejects third-party doctrine claim.
      • Third Circuit Court of Appeals rules defendant had no standing to raise a Carpenter claim.
      • U.S. Dist. Ct. invokes 6th Circuit Carpenter decision to defeat a Carpenter claim based on good faith.
      • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division holds search of phone to look for incriminating photographs improper
      • 11th Circuit decides good faith exception applies based on pre-existing 11th Circuit precedent.
      • U.S. Dist. Ct. for M. D. Penn. declines to apply Carpenter because good faith exception and a previous finding of Probable Cause
      • U.S. Dist. Ct. for E.D. Michigan invokes good faith exception to defeat Carpenter claim
      • Central District of Illinois Carpenter does not apply to pole cameras placed in public places to conduct surveillance of Defenda
      • United States District Court for the District of New Mexico invokes good faith and inevitable discovery exceptions to allow use
      • United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee rules Defendant had no standing, rejecting Carpenter claim.
      • Northern Dist. Ga. orders more proceedings to decide scope of good faith exception.
      • Massachusetts Appellate Court invokes exigent circumstances for obtaining real time CSLI
      • Why are witnesses asked to give statements by police and prosecutors? Doesn’t giving a statement mean I don’t have to testify in
      • NY Supreme Court Appellate Division finds standing, but also finds exigent circumstances applied to warrantless search of CSLI a
      • 7th Circuit affirms conviction regarding CSLI, finds no good cause under FRCP for failure to raise the issue.
      • 2nd Circuit reverses suppression of GPS data by Judge Weinstein (NY)
      • What is a perjury trap and why you need a lawyer when served with a Grand Jury subpoena.
      • Can a teenager be prosecuted for having sex with another teenager?
      • 11th Circuit upholds vitality of Miller decision in IRS investigation regarding bank records
      • Maryland Court of Appeals remands law enforcement use of stingray for good faith hearing
      • California Court of Appeals upholds search of cell phone as proper condition to juvenile probation
      • D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declines to extend Carpenter to the sharing of Facebook information with a third party
    • August
      • U.S. Dist. Ct. for Connecticut denies suppression motion regarding Defendants’ Facebook pages, citing good faith exception.
      • U.S. District Court for Southern Dist. of Indiana invokes good faith exception despite any controlling 7th Circuit precedent
      • Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals holds Carpenter violation moot due to harmless error.
      • U.S.D.C. for E.D. Mich. invokes good faith exception despite absence of controlling case law
      • The U.S. D.C. for N.D. California invokes Carpenter in part to suppress fruits of use of stingray.
      • U.S. D.C. for N.D. Georgia invokes good faith exception to defeat Carpenter claim
      • California Supreme Court invokes harmless error rule in capital case regarding phone records
      • 4th Circuit Court of Appeals invokes Good Faith exception to defeat argument warrant was required
      • Indiana Court of Appeals holds text messages of purported drug dealer based on warrant admissible. Warrant for cell phone follow
      • Georgia Appellate Court, Fourth Division holds that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the data contained in your
      • Analysis of Justice Gorsuch’s pseudo-dissenting opinion
      • Analysis of Justice Alito’s dissenting opinion
      • U.S. Dist. Ct for N.D. California invokes Good faith exception to defeat Carpenter claim
      • D.C. District Court Sets Standard to Compel the Unlocking of a Phone at Reasonable Suspicion
      • Happy 60th Birthday to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
      • The Illinois Supreme Court Overrules McFadden in a Termination of Parental Rights Case.
      • Cases remanded in light of the Carpenter decision and a note on the direction of this blog
      • John Oliver’s Take on Prosecutors
      • 1st District Appellate Court Reverses de Facto Life Sentence for Defendant With Intellectual Disabilities
      • Analysis of Justice Thomas’ dissenting opinion
      • Another take on the Carpenter decision and “real-time” CSLI
      • What is a Violation of Probation Hearing?
      • Discussion of Justice Kennedy’s dissent
      • New York Law Journal Column analyzing the Carpenter Majority Opinion
      • U.S. Supreme Court holds that cell phone site location technology requires a warrant in Carpenter v. United States
      • The Law Office of William Wolf, LLC announces new “Carpenter blog”
      • Illinois Supreme Court Reverses Finding That Minor Is Constitutionally Entitled to a Jury Trial
    • June
      • United States Supreme Court Limits Mandatory Restitution to Government Investigations
    • May
      • United States Supreme Court Holds Warrantless Search of Motorcycle on Curtilage Illegal
      • 5th District Appellate Court Rules Pro SE Motion to Suppress on Illegal Search of Home Should Have Been Granted.
      • Seventh Circuit reverses plea and sentence through video conference
    • April
      • Statement Regarding United States Supreme Court Decision in United States v. Rod Blagojevich
      • Seventh Circuit Affirms Sentencing Analysis Using Guideline Departure Factors as Consideration in Fashioning Sentence
      • First District Appellate Court Holds Motion to Suppress Statements Should Have Been Granted, Reversing a First Degree Murder Con
      • First District Appellate Court Upholds Murder Conviction Where Defense Was Barred From Presenting Evidence of Defendant’s Epilep
      • Seventh Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of 2255 Motion and Remands for a Hearing on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
      • U.S. Supreme Court Holds Police Officer Who Shoots Woman Holding a Knife Is Entitled to Qualified Immunity
      • 1st District Appellate Court Reverses Conviction Based on Hearsay Use of Cell Phone Historical Site Analysis
      • Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Miller Claim on Successive Post-conviction.
    • March
      • Illinois Supreme Court Grants Mandamus Relief Over Imposition of Incorrect Term of Mandatory Supervised Release
      • Seventh Circuit Reverses District Court’s Determination of Marital Property for Purposes of Federal Criminal Restitution by Husb
      • Second District Appellate Court Upholds Suppression of Evidence of Homicide Despite Search Warrant
      • United States Supreme Court Reverses Tax Conviction, Placing Significant Restrictions on the Government’s Use of the Omnibus Cla
      • 7th Circuit Denies Habeas Relief in Sex Abuse Case Where Courts Used Rape Shield Law to Bar Prior Evidence of Relationship Betwe
      • Seventh Circuit Holds Defendant Did Not Invoke His 6th Amendment Right to Counsel
      • United States Supreme Court Unanimously Reverses Fifth Circuit Habeas Precedent in Death Penalty Case in Condemned Prisoner’s Re
      • The Seventh Circuit Upholds Suppression, Determining That Officers Prolonged Traffic Stop.
    • February
      • Third District Appellate Court Upholds Denial of Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea
      • Second District Appellate Court Rejects Contention That Murder Sentence Was Void.
      • First District Appellate Court Holds Sora Survives Constitutional Challenge From Unfit Defendant
      • First District Appellate Court Rejects Miller Claim on Second Post-conviction Petition.
      • Second District Appellate Court Decides There Was Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Defendant Knew Parcel Received in the Mai
      • Second District Appellate Court Suppresses Wiretaps, Finding Widespread Insufficiency With Requests Made by Assistant State’s At
      • Seventh Circuit Finds No Collateral Estoppel When Jury Acquits of Murder and Then Judge Convicts in Subsequent Bench Trial of Ar
      • The Seventh Circuit Upholds Restrictions in Calling Defense Mitigation Witnesses at Sentencing.
      • United States Supreme Court holds that a guilty plea, by itself, does not bar an appeal based on the constitutionality of the st
      • Third District Appellate Court Holds That Krankel Hearing Process Is Appropriate for Accusations of Unreasonable Assistance of P
      • First District Appellate Court Affirms Armed Violence Conviction, Rejecting the Defense Argument That He Can’t Be Convicted if H
      • Seventh Circuit Declines to Reverse Deportation Proceedings for Jamaican Where Predicated on Misdemeanor Domestic Battery Convic
      • Seventh Circuit Holds That One Does Not Have the Right to Sue to Force the Chicago Police to Remove False Entries Re: Criminal H
      • First District Appellate Court Affirms Police Procurement of Blood Despite Unconstitutionality of Statute Based on Good Faith Ex
      • Second District Holds Prior Inconsistent Statement Inadmissible, but Harmless. Also Holds That Unlawful Possession of a Firearm
      • Illinois Supreme Court decides no actual conflict of interest existed in dual law school clinic representation.
      • Illinois Supreme Court Reverses Appellate Court’s Refusal to Decide Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim
      • Illinois Supreme Court Invalidates Unlawful Use of a Weapon Statute Within 1000 Feet of a Park as Violative of the Second Amendm
    • January
      • Illinois Supreme Court Invalidates State’s Attorney’s Personal Drug Interdiction Force
      • Illinois Supreme Court Clarifies the Meaning of Plain Error in Zehr Jury Selection Violation Case.
      • Second District Appellate Court Upholds Counsel Pursuing Monetary Judgment Only on Direct Appeal.
      • Third District Appellate Court reverses burglary conviction.
      • First District Appellate Court Affirms Attempt Murder Conviction
      • First District Appellate Court Reverses One Aggravated Unlawful Use of Weapon Count and Affirms the Others
      • Illinois Supreme Court reverses sex offender registration conviction
      • Seventh Circuit Denies Habeas Relief. Proof That Trial Attorney Suffered From Mental Illness and Was Subsequently Disbarred by I
      • Illinois Supreme Court Bars Use of Medical Conditions That “May” Have Caused Impairment in Aggravated Dui Drug Prosecutions
      • Seventh Circuit Reverses Plea Deal, Finding Plea Not Knowing or Voluntary and Rejects Waiver in Plea Agreement.
      • First District Appellate Court upholds murder conviction, finding forfeiture by wrongdoing
      • Second District Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Denial of 1st Stage Post-conviction Petition That Claimed Ineffective Assistan
      • The First District Appellate Court Holds That During a Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea, Counsel’s Certification Must Cover Both t
      • First District Appellate Court Rules No State Action on Forced Catheterization of Defendant in Dui Prosecution and No Speedy Tri
      • Second District Illinois Appellate Court Holds Defendant Should Have Been Allowed to Go Pro SE.
      • U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Probable Cause Existed to Arrest Partygoers for a Trespass-Type Charge.
      • Seventh Circuit Decides Probable Cause Existed to Support a Warrant
      • Illinois Supreme Court Issues Revised Drew Petersen Opinion
      • Illinois Supreme Court Holds That Armed Violence and Armed Habitual Criminal Convictions Do Not Constitute “One Act, One Crime”
      • Illinois Supreme Court Finds Felony Murder Count of Indictment Was Not So Vague as to Require Dismissal.
      • Illinois Supreme Court Holds “Bare Bones” Post-trial Pro-SE Assertion of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Triggers a Krankel In
      • Illinois Supreme Court Reverses and Remands a Second Degree Murder Adult Sentence for a Juvenile and Grants a New Hearing.
      • Illinois Supreme Court holds in first criminal case of 2018 that statute of limitations barred State’s ability to re-file non-Ag
      • First District Appellate Court Upholds Murder Conviction; Cell Phone Historical Site Data Does Not Require a Frye Hearing
      • 7th Circuit affirms conviction that was challenged on sufficiency of the evidence.
      • First District Appellate Court Upholds Home Invasion/Sex Assault Conviction. Calling the Police “Superheroes” Is Improper.
      • State Challenges Legal Authority of Appellate Court to Order Remand to a Different Trial Judge, and Loses in Case With Improper
      • First District Appellate Court Reverses Resisting a Police Officer Conviction for a New Trial and Urges the State to Consider Dr
      • Second District Appellate Court Vacates Restitution Order for Amount That Exceeded Verdict.
      • First U.S. Supreme Court Criminal Case Decided in Favor of Defendant in Capital Case.
      • Third District Appellate Court Remands for Additional 2-1401 Proceedings
      • Third District Appellate Court Orders New Post Conviction Evidentiary Hearing
      • Third District Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Agg Dui Conviction
      • First Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of 2018 Is In: A Violation by a Judge of 11(C)(1) Does Not Automatically Create a Due Proces
      • First Illinois Criminal Case of 2018: Appellate Court Affirms Murder Conviction Where Only Eyewitness Recanted at Trial
      • Chief Justice’s Report makes special mention of sexual harassment in the judicial workplace.
  • 2017
    • December
      • This Office Has Just Signed On to Be a Member of Nacdl’s First Amendment Strike Force and Mass Defense Unit
      • Seventh Circuit Holds That Indiana Class B Burglary Is an Acca Enhancement Qualifier
      • Seventh Circuit Vacates Conspiracy Counts on Double Jeopardy Principles
      • Attorney William Wolf Took Part in Nacdl Predictive Policing Task Force Meeting
      • Seventh Circuit Rejects Vagueness Challenge to Acca Sentence in Collateral Attack
      • Seventh Circuit Orders Re-Sentencing Finding Error in Applying Enhancement Based on Supervisory Role
      • Illinois’ Residential Burglary Statute Qualifies as a Burglary for Armed Career Criminal Act Enhancement Purposes.
      • Seventh Circuit Holds That When a Substantive Offense Would Be a Violent Felony Under Acca, an Attempt to Commit That Offense Al
      • Iacdl Amicus Brief in United States v. Blagojevich Is on File.
    • November
      • First District Appellate Court Reverses Conviction for Threatening a Cook County Judge
      • 7th Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Federal Habeas Corpus Petition Because It Was a “Mixed” Petition.
      • 7th Circuit Affirms Conspiracy and Gun Possession Conviction, Rejecting Entrapment Defense in a “Stash House Sting”
      • Seventh Circuit Finds Failure to Swear Venire in Promptly During Voir Dire to Be Harmless, Non-structural Error.
      • Seventh Circuit Holds That District Court Can Order Defendant to Remain in the District as a Supervised Release Condition
      • Third District Appellate Court Reverses Improper Police Expert Testimony
      • 3rd District Appellate Court Holds There’s No Jurisdiction to Decide Fines/Fees Entered After Defendant Files Notice of Appeal
      • Third District Appellate Court Affirms Dismissal of 2-1401 Petition on Jurisdictional Grounds Only
      • Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of “Go Topless” Lawsuit Against City of Chicago
      • Illinois 1st District Appellate Court Adopts “Strickland-Type” Standard for Retained First Stage Post-conviction Counsel
      • Illinois Supreme Court Holds Minor Can Be Sentenced to Djj for Misdemeanor Violation of Probation Despite Statute
      • Third District Appellate Court Affirms New Trial After Post-conviction Hearing Based on Brady Violation in Infamous Del Prete Ca
      • Seventh Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
      • 7th Circuit Holds Delivery of a Controlled Substance Under Illinois Law Qualifies as Federal Career Offender Enhancement
      • Seventh Circuit holds guilty plea transcript details not subject to judicial notice
      • U.S. Supreme Court Reverses 7th Circuit on Issue of Jurisdiction to Hear an Appeal
      • IL 2nd District Appellate Court Orders New Trial for Failure to Give Lesser Instruction of Theft in a Burglary Case
      • IL 4th District Appellate Court upholds denial of entrapment instruction
      • IL 1st District Appellate Court Upholds Aggravated Battery Conviction
      • Third District Appellate Court Reverses Escape Conviction
      • 3rd District Upholds Denial of Petition to Rescind Summary Suspension in Dui
      • IL Fourth District Appellate Court Orders New Hearing on Withdrawal of Guilty Plea
      • United States Supreme Court Holds Lack of Memory of the Offense Not a Clearly Established Basis to Prevent Execution
      • Seventh Circuit Holds That Wisconsin State Court Finding That Suppressed Brady Evidence Wasn’t Material Not Against Clearly Esta
      • Seventh Circuit Upholds Convictions and Sentences in Wire Fraud. Challenges to Instructions and Sentencing Enhancements Rejected
      • United States Supreme Court Holds Habeas Defendant Is Not Entitled to Specific Enforcement of a Plea Agreement
      • First District Appellate Court Reverses Aggravated Battery Conviction
    • October
      • What is a Sentencing Hearing?
      • What is a Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Job at a Sentencing Hearing?
      • What is a Preliminary Hearing?
      • What is a Grand Jury?
      • Do I Need a Lawyer if I am the Target of a Grand Jury Investigation?
      • What is a Lineup?
      • What is a Lineup?
      • Can I Have My Lawyer Present During the Police Lineup?
      • Do I Need a Lawyer if I am Being Held at a Police Station?
      • What is an Arrest Warrant?
      • Do I Need a Lawyer if I Have a Warrant for My Arrest?
      • What Is a Search Warrant?
      • Do I Need a Lawyer if I’ve Been Presented with a Search Warrant or a Search is Taking Place Due to a Search Warrant?
      • Do I Need a Lawyer for the Bond Hearing?
      • Do I Need a Lawyer for the Bond Hearing?
      • Are Bail Bondsmen Used in the State of Illinois?
      • What is a Bond Hearing or Bail Hearing?
      • Do I Need a Lawyer if I Receive a Grand Jury Subpoena?
      • What is a Pre-Trial Motion?
    • January
      • Appellate Court Reverses Trial Court for Holding Material Witness No Bail and Remands for a New Hearing.
  • 1900
    • January
      • Florida Fourth District Appellate Court again reverses murder conviction based on CSLI. Court rejects good faith exception.
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