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Massachusetts High Court Vacates OUI Conviction for Improper Jury Instruction in Which Judge Told Jury to Disregard the Absence of Any Sobriety Tests

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that a defendant accused of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (“OUI”) has the right to prevent a jury instruction that could cause the jury to speculate about facts not in evidence. Michael Wolfe was arrested and charged with OUI after a Marlborough police officer observed

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What Is the Number One Duty of a Police Officer?

There is an oft-quoted and deeply ingrained sentiment in police circles, one whose logic seems unassailable at first glance: The number one duty of a police officer is to go home to his or her family at the end of the shift. This feels right. Police operate in a dangerous world of unknowns. They are

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South Carolina Supreme Cancels Thousands of Bench Warrants Due to Constitutional Violations

Thousands of arrest warrants have been recalled by county magistrates and municipal judges across the state after South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Beatty issued new instructions to local magistrates. On September 15, 2017, Beatty issued a memo to summary courts, which include county magistrates and municipal judges, “decrying reported violations of the right

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The Fair Punishment Project Details an “Epidemic of Brady Violations”

The Fair Punishment Project (“FPP”), a criminal justice reform group, released a report in November 2017 detailing an “epidemic” of Brady violations taking place in criminal courts across the country. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), and its progeny that the prosecution is duty-bound to disclose any information

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Secret ATF Slush Fund Dispensed Million

An explosive investigation by The New York Times has revealed the existence of a secret account used by agents at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) to dispense millions of untraceable private dollars to informants and agents for over seven years. The story reads like something straight out of Hollywood. In 2006,

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