Blogs

On February 21, 2012, the Supreme Court Howes v. Fields reversed the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by holding that an interrogation of an inmate that lasted from five to seven hours, took place in a conference room within the confines of the prison, and concerned criminal activity outside of the prison was not in all instances a custodial interrogation requiring Miranda warnings.  In its holding, the Supreme Court made clear that it was rejecting a categorical rule that such interrogations are custodial per se.

On Monday, January 23, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in United States v. Jones  that the installation of a GPS device on a vehicle was a search under the Fourth Amendment.

On August 24, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a series of opinions in the case of United States v. Holcomb that in effect affirm its earlier ruling that the language in the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 governing (lower) mandatory minimum punishments applies only to criminal conduct that occurred on or after August 3, 2010.  This ruling is contrary to the position recently taken by Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr.