124 results for 'cat:"Criminal Procedure" AND cat:"Sentencing"'.
J. Panella finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant for harassment after she anonymously texted the other mothers of cheerleaders on her daughter’s competitive cheerleading squad images of their children, criticizing their behavior. The mother failed to raise whether her trial counsel had properly advised her about testifying on her own behalf before the lower court and thus, cannot do so on appeal. Affirmed.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Panella, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: J-S18007-23, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing, Harassment
J. Colins finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant to probation after a jury found him guilty of defiant trespass and the court found him guilty of disorderly conduct; both crimes related to his exhibiting aggressive behavior toward the manager of a smoke shop after being banned from the store. Defendant’s challenge of the trespass charge is moot because the manager asked him to leave the store five to 10 times upon his second entrance after defendant had already been ordered to leave earlier that day; such behavior fits the charge of defiant trespass. Affirmed.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Colins, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: J-S35038-23, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing, Trespass
J. Glasgow finds that the lower court properly convicted but improperly sentenced defendant for violating a local statute that makes it unlawful to leave a dangerous dog outside unattended and unleashed. Defendant was convicted for violating the ordinance after her dog was left unsecured at home, but was given a chance to suspend her sentence if the dog was turned over to animal control the next day. That condition on the suspension of the sentence is not supported by any language or requirements under the law, so the sentence was unlawful. Reversed in part.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Glasgow, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 56949-3-II, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing
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J. Bowes finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant pet sitter for to one to 18 months’ imprisonment for stealing a client’s approximately $10,000 haul of silver coins and currency to satisfy her gambling habit. The value of the property taken was never determined, so the sentence for theft by unlawful taking must be graded at its lowest level, a misdemeanor of the third degree, and sentenced as such. Vacated.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Bowes, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: J-S27017-23, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing, Theft
J. Schlegel vacates defendant's sentence on his conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, being adjudicated as a third felony offender. The record does not show that the trial court ruled on defendant's pro se motion for a new trial, which was required before sentencing. Vacated.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Schlegel, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 23-KA-451, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing
J. Sullivan finds that the district court properly sentenced defendant to 45 years based on her guilty plea to sexual exploitation and conspiracy to sexually exploit her young child. The sentence was not substantively unreasonable given that she solicited participation by the girl's father and produced and shared pornographic photos and videos of encounters based on the father's directions. The court failed to verify defendant had read and discussed the presentence report with counsel, but the error was not prejudicial. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Sullivan, Filed On: October 17, 2023, Case #: 21-2134, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing, Child Pornography
J. Kunselman finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant to endure confinement, pay a fine and complete community service for disorderly conduct stemming from her noncompliance with a police officer during a traffic stop. Because the sentence did not include a term of probation, the court did not have the authority to order community service. Vacated.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Kunselman, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: J-S32022-23, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing, Vehicle
J. Raider finds that defendant was improperly sentenced to imprisonment following revocation of pre-trial diversion based on his guilty plea to trafficking in a controlled substance. Although he was terminated from a drug court program in 2018 for absconding, the commonwealth did not move to revoke diversion at that time, and the diversionary period has since expired. Reversed.
Court: Kentucky Court Of Appeals, Judge: Jones, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: 2022-CA-1070-MR, Categories: criminal Procedure, Drug Offender, sentencing
J. Samour finds defendant's right to a jury trial was not violated, as the recidivism portion of Colorado's animal cruelty criminal statute is not an element of the offense required to be proven to the jury but is, in fact, a sentence enhancement to be proved to the trial court by a preponderance of the evidence. Although it elevates convictions from misdemeanors to felonies, the recidivism portion stands alone from the subsection of the statute that lists elements of animal cruelty and does not radically increase punishment for a defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Samour, Filed On: October 3, 2023, Case #: 2023CO50, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing, Animal Cruelty
J. Jacobs finds that the board of immigration appeals properly held that changes to state sentencing provisions for predicate crimes of possessing a forged instrument did not alter removability. The change lowered maximum possible sentences by a day in order to place the predicate offense under the one-year threshold, which merits deportation for crimes of "moral turpitude." But the federal removal statute applied to the relevant criminal proceedings, not to the immigration proceedings, and the alteration lacked retroactive effect.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Jacobs, Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: 21-6380, Categories: criminal Procedure, Immigration, sentencing
J. Lobree finds the trial court properly revoked defendant's probation and sentenced him to 10 years in prison more than three years after he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a license. In part because the evidence shows defendant violated his probation by testing positive for cocaine, changing his residence without notification and failing to report to his probation officer for two years, during which time he was investigated in connection with an attempted murder, the trial court made no error revoking his probation and sentencing him as a habitual offender. The case is remanded, however, for the trial court to conform a written order with oral pronouncements made at defendant's 2020 sentencing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Lobree, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: 19-0551, Categories: criminal Procedure, Probation, sentencing
J. Stewart finds the appeals court erroneously determined the trial court could not revise defendant's sex offender classification. Defendant was required to register as a Tier I sex offender for 10 years under Megan's Law and could not seek early termination of his registration requirements, as that classification is mandated by the sentencing laws in effect at the time of a defendant's conviction. Furthermore, defendant's registration requirements under Megan's Law commenced on the date of his conviction in Ohio, regardless of the fact he moved to Kentucky immediately after the conviction, and the 10-year period was not tolled during his residence in Kentucky. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Stewart, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3027, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Moore affirms the district court's determination that the petitioner was entitled to a substantive sentencing hearing to determine whether his modified sentences of life in prison with possibility of release should be served consecutively or concurrently. Whether or not the district court had the authority to order such a hearing, the unique circumstances in this case, where the petitioner's co-defendant has already had his sentences clarified as running concurrently rather than consecutively in light of a series of higher court decisions, warrant the use of the Supreme Court's supervisory powers to direct the district court to hold such a hearing.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Moore, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: A22-0192, Categories: criminal Procedure, Murder, sentencing
J. Mercier finds that the trial court improperly dismissed defendant's pro se motion to modify or reduce his sentence for child molestation, sodomy and statutory rape convictions. The decision to dismiss was based on a holding by the Georgia Supreme Court related to a layperson's right to represent himself while also being represented by an attorney. The holding was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court's decision earlier this year in Johnson v. State. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Mercier, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: A23A1186, Categories: criminal Procedure, sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Duarte finds that defendant's peremptory challenge to a trial court judge assigned to hear her resentencing request was untimely. Trial court proceedings reevaluating her request for resentencing that were held following a previous remand from this court were not a new trial since her murder and robbery charges were not refiled and her jury trial and double jeopardy protections were not involved.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Duarte, Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: C097144, Categories: criminal Procedure, Murder, sentencing