Yesterday, in Glossip v. Gross, the Supreme Court decided, in a 5-4 decision, that the use of midazolam in the process of executing prisoners does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.  Justice Kennedy was the swing vote, siding with court’s more conservative majority. Midazolam is supposed to render a person insensate […]

At issue in this case was whether a city can authorize the police to routinely inspect hotel guest registries without any individualized suspicion or judicial supervision.  Los Angeles had a Municipal Code provision that that requires hotels to collect names, drivers licenses, vehicle information, payment information, and length of stay for every hotel guest, hold them […]

On June 15, 2015, In Reyes Mata v. Lynch, 576 U.S.___ (2015), the Supreme Court decided the following issue: whether the Fifth Circuit erred in holding that it has no jurisdiction to review petitioner’s request that the Board of Immigration Appeals equitably toll the ninety-day deadline on his motion to reopen as a result of […]

The New York Times published a provocative article on the issue of bail and pre-trial detention today.  The U.S. leads the world in the number of pre-trial detainees, according to the National Institute of Corrections, an agency of the Department of Justice.  The article highlights a recurring issue in Alameda County courts: when poor defendants […]

Today, the Supreme Court decided Mellouli v. Lynch a case involving the removal from the United States of Moones Mellouli, a lawful permanent resident from Tunisia, based on a Kansas misdemeanor drug paraphernalia conviction for possession of a sock used to hide four tablets of the prescription drug Adderall.  Yes, a sock. The charging document and plea […]