NBC has this article up about the top national criminal law story of the moment. It notes that “[a] federal grand jury indicted former national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday, making him the third critic of President Donald Trump to face criminal charges in recent weeks.” The article goes on to state that “Bolton was indicted in federal court in Maryland, where he lives and where prosecutors have been investigating whether he improperly retained classified materials after his acrimonious departure from the first Trump administration. The indictment charges him with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.” The transmission counts apparently are based on Bolton sending diary-style materials to two relatives. Bolton’s legal team contends that he is innocent and has been unfairly targeted based on his acrimonious relationship with President Trump.
42% of drivers killed in crashes had high THC levels. According to a report in Science Daily, an examination of the blood of 246 drivers killed in vehicle collisions in Ohio found that “41.9% tested positive for active THC in their blood, with an average level of 30.7 ng/mL,” which is apparently quite high and suggests recent consumption. Interestingly, the researchers found that “[t]he high rate of THC positivity remained consistent over six years and was unaffected by the state’s legalization of recreational cannabis during the study period.”
Supreme Court suggests that probable cause is not the right standard when police enter a home to aid an occupant. SCOTUSblog summarizes this week’s argument in Montana v. Case as follows: “The question before the justices was how certain police officers must be that there is an emergency before, as in this case, going into a house without a warrant [to attempt to aid an occupant]. After approximately 75 minutes of debate, the justices signaled that they were likely to give police officers more leeway in such situations, rather than adopting the more stringent [probable cause] standard that the [plaintiff] advanced.”
Supreme Court to take up permissible scope of appeal waivers. Many years ago, I blogged about appeal waivers in plea agreements. At least at that time, such waivers were common in federal court and rare in state court. Sentencing Law and Policy highlights that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear “the case of Munson Hunter, a Texas man who pleaded guilty in 2024 to aiding and abetting wire fraud,” and specifically, to consider the appeal waiver that was part of his plea agreement. Apparently “the case concerns whether an appeal waiver in a plea agreement precludes review of any [subsequent] unconstitutional sentence.”
Plea deal in arson at Pennsylvania governor’s mansion. Cody Balmer pleaded guilty this week to attempted murder of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. CNN reports that he “scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to ignite the . . . governor’s mansion.” In addition to attempted murder, Ballmer “also entered pleas to terrorism, 22 counts of arson, aggravated arson, burglary, aggravated assault . . . 21 counts of reckless endangerment and loitering.” Loitering? Seems a bit like piling on, but okay. Balmer “was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison” as part of his agreement.
Former NFLer gets stabbed, charged with battery. NBC explains that former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez “has been released from the hospital and was briefly booked into jail Sunday [in Indiana] after he was charged with felony battery.” Allegedly, Sanchez was intoxicated and confronted a 69-year-old delivery driver at a hotel, telling the driver that he could not park his truck at the hotel’s loading dock. Why Sanchez felt a need to oversee the hotel’s parking protocols is unclear. According to reports, the two began to argue, Sanchez assaulted the older man, and the latter used pepper spray and eventually a knife in an effort to defend himself. Sanchez told reporters that he is “focused on his recovery” at this time.
New bulletin on capacity to proceed. Professor John Rubin has just released this new bulletin on capacity to proceed. He says that the paper is “an updated and combined version of chapters [he] previously wrote for the North Carolina Defender Manual and North Carolina Superior Court Judges Benchbook.” It appears to be quite comprehensive and a valuable practical resource.