KYSC - Brumley - Protective Sweep Search

Commonwealth v. Randy Brumley 

SCT, 11/21/13, to be published

The Court held that a “protective sweep” of Mr. Brumley’s trailer was not permitted under the Fourth Amendment and Section 10 of the Ky. Constitution where Mr. Brumley was already in custody, outside the trailer, when the officers made the decision to enter the trailer.  The fact that Mr. Brumley might be a gun owner mattered not.  “Brumley's rights under the Fourth Amendment cannot be diminished simply by exercising his rights under the Second Amendment.”  Neither did it matter that officers heard a noise from the trailer.  What is required for a Constitutional protective sweep is “facts reasonably demonstrating that Brumley's home harbored not just an additional individual, but rather an ‘individual posing a danger to those on the arrest scene.’"  The Court observed, “[The officers’]  primary objective of arresting Brumley without mishap having been achieved, an attentive departure from the premises with their prisoner would surely have been safer than an invasion of the home.”   

Shanda West-Stiles and C. B. Bates of the Columbia trial office represented Mr. Brumley before the circuit court and preserved this issue, and Emily Rhorer represented Mr. Brumley on appeal.  

Contributed by Karen Maurer

Pure Politics with Ryan Alessi on Expungement

Owens: Time to 'walk the walk' when talking about giving non-violent ex-felons second chances

For more than 94,000 Kentuckians, a single mistake continues to haunt each one of them, barring them from getting certain jobs, expanding their businesses, volunteering at their children’s’ schools or even going hunting. 

It’s what one public defender calls “an economic death sentence."

On Thursday, Rep. Darryl T. Owens, D-Louisville, will pre-file a bill for the 2014 legislative session to provide a path to redemption for those 94,000 Kentuckians, who have a single non-violent felony on their records. 

Owens will try for a second consecutive session to pass a felony expungement bill. It’s modeled off of the process in Indiana, which is one of 17 states that have some form of expungement process.

video  with Public Advocate Ed Monahan and Representative Darryl Owens

Kentucky Highlighted for Using National Model for Pretrial Risk Assessment

A National Model for Pretrial Risk Assessment - Pretrial Justice Initiative

With the goal of creating a safer, fairer, and less costly pretrial justice system, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) yesterday announced the development of a national pretrial risk assessment tool. In the research brief, Developing a National Model for Pretrial Risk Assessment, LJAF laid out the need for the new tool, described how it was developed, and expressed their desire for it to  be used in jurisdictions across the country.

“This research represents an historic step forward in the advancement of safe, fair and effective justice across the land,” PJI’s executive director Tim Murray said. “For the first time jurisdictions will be able to make informed pretrial decisions while enhancing public safety and reducing needless pretrial incarceration.”

In their report, LJAF highlighted the flaws in the current system: 12 million people are booked into local jails each year, and jails filled with more than 60% of pretrial defendants, costing the country over $9 billion annually. Data collected over the past two years by LJAF show that too often high risk and/or violent defendants are released, while low-risk, non-violent defendants are detained. Most shocking is the finding that pretrial detention of low-risk defendants increases the likelihood of future crime.

LJAF’s data-driven, user-friendly risk assessment tool — the Public Safety Assessment-Court (PSA-Court) — provides a risk score for three categories: new criminal activity, new violent crime, and failure to appear in court. The foundation anticipates that the new tool will help judges “easily, cheaply, and reliably quantify defendant risk.”

The tool is already in use in 120 counties in Kentucky with plans to roll out in additional pilot sites in the near future. LJAF has the ambitious goal of having every judge in America using a “data-driven, objective risk assessment within the next five years.“

Click here to view the full report or here to see the LJAF press release.

Excellent Story on Kentucky Innocence Project Client - Susan King - WHAS11

Woman fights to clear name after man confesses to murder 

A Kentuckiana woman is working to clear her name after spending years in prison for a crime she said she didn't commit....

It was July 2012 when the Innocence Project took the new information before a judge.  Spencer County Circuit Court Judge Charles Hickman wrote the confession was so compelling it would have likely influenced the verdict, but his ruling came down to a technicality.  He couldn't grant King a new trial because she never had a trial in the first place. In taking the Alford Plea, a form of guilty plea, she lost almost all rights to appeal.

 
Complete Story and video

U.S. House unanimously passes resolution supporting the right to counsel

“The first step towards solving any problem is acknowledging one exists,” stated Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-21), speaking November 13, 2013, on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of House Resolution 196, Supporting the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution, the right to counsel. The problem in question, according to Deutch, is that “the fundamental right of an indigent defendant to adequate counsel remains withering on the vine.”  Though the resolution itself simply reflects support for the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution itself – and thus its passage by unanimous consent later that night was expected – it is still important because the resolution is the first bipartisan acknowledgement by the House of Representatives that Congress should develop “strategies to improve the criminal justice system to ensure that indigent defendants … are adequately represented by counsel.”  - Sixth Amendment Center

The video of the Congressman is available at this link

National Symposium on the Death Penalty held at Carter Center

 The ABA Symposium on the Death Penalty was held last week in at the Carter Center.  Kentucky is one of the states in which the ABA has conducted an assessment (available here).  Public Advocate, Ed Monahan, was in attendance.   Other speakers included Stephen Bright and retired Sixth Circuit Judge Boyce Martin.

Jimmy Carter calls for fresh moratorium on death penalty

“It’s time for the supreme court to look at the totality of the death penalty once again,” Carter said. “My preference would be for the court to rule that it is cruel and unusual punishment, which would make it prohibitive under the US constitution.”

The Kentucky Bar Association Criminal Law Section and the University of Kentucky College of Law are sponsoring the Second Annual Forum on Criminal Law Reform in the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Friday, November 15, 2013.  "The Death Penalty in the Commonwealth: What the ABA Kentucky Death Penalty Assessment Team Report on the Administration of the Death Penalty in Kentucky Means" will be held from 12:00-5:00 p.m. in the University of Kentucky College of Law Courtroom. The program has been accredited for 4.25 CLE credits in Kentucky.  Admission to the forum is free, and interested individuals are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion. Details and registration information are available on the University of Kentucky College of Law's website. 

 

Resources on the Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Criminal Justice System - from NCJA

NCJA web page

On March 23, 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since that time there has been great speculation on how implementation would impact not only the many uninsured; but how access to health care services might impact our criminal justice system.  With an estimated 14 percent of men and 31 percent of women in jail and state prison suffering from chronic and persistent mental illness and an even higher percentage with a diagnosable substance abuse disorder, the need for increased treatment services is well established.  Despite this, individual offenders and criminal justice systems have lacked the resources to access intensive in/outpatient treatment, treatment alternatives to incarceration or the medically tailored reentry services needed to improve personal and public safety outcomes. While the ACA promises to provide millions of indigent and working poor with access to medical and behavioral health services, there is still great uncertainty around how justice populations will be able to take advantage of this expanded coverage. 

With ACA implementation unfolding differently in every state, understanding how this new law may impact state and local justice populations is complicated.  In addition, with every state standing up health insurance exchanges and more than half expanding Medicaid eligibility (as of October 2013) there is the added complexity of each system’s eligibility and coverage options.  Information provided below is intended to help keep justice system stakeholders informed on how ACA implementation may impact justice systems and client populations.

ACA Criminal Justice Resources

The Affordable Care Act and Criminal Justice: Intersections and Implications White Paper (BJA)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) --The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Justice-Involved Populations (Community Oriented Correctional Health Services)

County Jails and the Affordable Care Act: Enrolling Eligible Individuals in Health Coverage (National Association of Counties)

Webinar/Presentation Resources

Expanding Treatment: How the Affordable Care Act Can Impact Criminal Justice Systems (NCJA)

Listen to the webinar
View the webinar slides

The Affordable Care Act: Implications for the Criminal Justice System (Council on State Governments)

Listen to the webinar
View the webinar slides

Preparing for Medicaid Expansion: Ensuring Healthcare Access for Individuals with Criminal Justice Involvement (Center for Healthcare Strategies)

Listen to the webinar
View the webinar slides

Leveraging National Health Reform to Reduce Ricidivism and Build Recovery (Center for Health and Justice at TASC)

Listen to the webinar
View the webinar slides

 

On March 23, 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since that time there has been great speculation on how implementation would impact not only the many uninsured; but how access to health care services might impact our criminal justice system.  With an estimated 14 percent of men and 31 percent of women in jail and state prison suffering from chronic and persistent mental illness and an even higher percentage with a diagnosable substance abuse disorder, the need for increased treatment services is well established.  Despite this, individual offenders and criminal justice systems have lacked the resources to access intensive in/outpatient treatment, treatment alternatives to incarceration or the medically tailored reentry services needed to improve personal and public safety outcomes. While the ACA promises to provide millions of indigent and working poor with access to medical and behavioral health services, there is still great uncertainty around how justice populations will be able to take advantage of this expanded coverage.
With ACA implementation unfolding differently in every state, understanding how this new law may impact state and local justice populations is complicated.  In addition, with every state standing up health insurance exchanges and more than half expanding Medicaid eligibility (as of October 2013) there is the added complexity of each system’s eligibility and coverage options.  Information provided below is intended to help keep justice system stakeholders informed on how ACA implementation may impact justice systems and client populations.
- See more at: http://ncja.org/issues-and-legislation/aca#sthash.wq7XB40o.dpuf

Free from NJDC: Trial Manual for Defense Attorneys in Juvenile Delinquency Cases

An updated, 2013 edition of the Hertz, Guggenheim & Amsterdam Trial Manual for Defense Attorneys in Juvenile Delinquency Cases is now available, free of charge, on National Juvenile Defender Center website.  A complete how-to guidebook for handling juvenile court cases, the Manual covers every phase of the juvenile court process, from arrest and intake through appeals, with sound advice from distinguished experts.  This definitive hornbook will be extremely useful to both the new and veteran attorney, and incorporates scholarly writings, statutes, and cases from jurisdictions across the nation.  The Manual is an invaluable resource on the law as it is applied to youth at each stage of the delinquency process.

Please follow this link to view the new edition of this invaluable resource: http://njdc.info/pdf/2013_Juvenile_Trial_Manual-Updated_Full_Version.pdf (1041 pages)

FYI - DPA has also published the Kentucky Juvenile Advocacy Manual (72 pages)

New Publication from the Sentencing Project: Ending Mass Incarceration: Social Interventions That Work

Mass incarceration has resulted from a great imbalance in our national approach to public safety, one that relies far too heavily on the criminal justice system. This has produced excessive levels of punishment and a diversion of resources from investments that could strengthen the capacity of families and communities to address the circumstances that contribute to crime.

Research has demonstrated that many social interventions are more cost-effective in producing better public safety outcomes than expanded incarceration. This policy brief discusses various interventions in early childhood education, juvenile justice, and community investment that have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing crime.

Read the full brief here.