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Riddle Me This. A Quizzical Approach to Recent Fourth Circuit Cases 2012. Alan DuBois Senior Appellate Attorney Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of NC. What Do You Get When You Divide Five Republicans into Ten Democrats?. The Fourth Circuit. Advanced Answer:
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Riddle Me This A Quizzical Approach to Recent Fourth Circuit Cases 2012 Alan DuBois Senior Appellate Attorney Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of NC
What Do You Get When You Divide Five Republicans into Ten Democrats? The Fourth Circuit. Advanced Answer: The Formula for a 50% Better Chance of an Enjoyable Trip to Richmond. Six New Judges Since 2009 More Geographic Balance More Published Opinions
But Remember the Immortal Words of Albert Einstein: Everything is Relative! Court Is Less Conservative But Hardly Liberal
Who Said “Reports of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated?” • It Was Actually the Fourth Amendment. • Now Off Life Support in the Fourth Circuit This Guy? Wrong!
New Common Sense Focus on Search and Seizure Issues • Police are not infallible or superhuman • Sowards • Police are not automatically credible no matter how far-fetched their story • Mubdi • Police have been known to overstep their authority • Jones
But, Not So Fast! If the Fourth Circuit Is Lucy and the Fourth Amendment is the Football, Who Are You? • The Common Sense Gate Swings Both Ways • Laudermilt- protective sweep • McBride- drug dog delay That’s • Right!
If the Fourth Amendment is on the Mend, What Constitutional Protection Has Taken Its Place on the Endangered Species List? • The Confrontation Clause. • The Clause Is in Vogue in the Supreme Court. In the Fourth Circuit, Not So Much. • Palacios- gang expert testimony • Deleon- statements to social worker • Dinkins- murdered witness on Pinkerton theory • Mouzone- 911 calls
Who Best Understands Armed Career Criminal Sentencing? • Trick Question. No One Understands Armed Career Criminal Sentencing. • Attempted B&E is a crime of violence • Davis • Possession of a shank in prison is a crime of violence • Mobley
What is More Confusing Than Chinese Arithmetic, the Infield Fly Rule, and TSA Security Line Policies All Put Together? • Properly Applying the Taylor Categorical Approach • Outcomes in these cases hard to predict. • Colson- lewd depiction of nudity wassexual abuse of minor • Gomez- child abuse was not crime of violence • Pending Supreme Court case may clarify things. • Descamps
Where Do All The Cases That Don’t Fit Anywhere Else Go? • Right here! (Yes, I was running out of steam by the time I got to this slide). • Smoot- Court leaves open possibility of as-applied 2nd Amendment challenge to 922(g). • Powell- May limit Simmons relief. • Lawson- New trial because juror used Wikipedia • Davis- Court may consider factors other than defendant’s cooperation in determining extent of Rule 35 departure. • McBride- 404(b) win!
Finally, What Do the Fourth Circuit and the University of South Carolina Have in Common? • The Fourth Circuit had not one but twocases involving cockfighting last year. • Gibert • Lawson • Long story short- It is constitutional for Congress to ban animal fighting. An Obsessive Fascination with Gamecocks