FPD Blog
On April 21, 2015, in the case of Rodriguez v. United States, the Supreme Court held that police officers cannot prolong a traffic stop to conduct a dog-sniffing drug search. The opinion, issued by Judge Ginsburg (in which Justices Roberts, Scalia, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan joined; Justice Kennedy issued a dissenting opinion; Justice Thomas issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Alito and Kennedy joined (Justice Kennedy joined all but Part III); and Justice...
On January 20, 2015, in the case of Holt v. Hobbs, the Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Alito struck down an Arkansas prison practice that prevented a prisoner of the Muslim faith to wear a beard. The Court’s opinion was based in part on its analysis of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. To view more of the Supreme Court's opinions, go to Law - Case Law - US Supreme Court in our navigation bar above.
Dr. Robert L. Smith, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine and the MetroHealth System, will give a 2 hour presentation regarding "Understanding Addiction and Substance Abuse (so that you can better represent your client and better understand your client's plight)." It will be held on November 17, 2014, from 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (registration is from 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.) at the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse, Auditorium, 7th Floor, 801 W. Superior Ave., Cleveland, Ohio and will be streamed live at the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Toledo, Ohio. This seminar...
For inmates and their families, please see the frequently asked questions and answers from the US Sentencing Commission regarding the Retroactive Application of the 2014 Drug Guidelines Amendment which takes effect on November 1, 2014.
Frequently Asked Questions: Retroactive Application of the 2014 Drug Guidelines Amendment