Court Cases
(This page is a compilation of all the court cases posted on this website. See related pages: Criminal Justice, Judicial / Court / Specialized Courts / Court Watch, Prosecution, Legal / Laws, Restorative Justice, Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit, Law Enforcement and Incarcerated Women / Female Offenders.)
3RD CIRCUIT RULES POLICE NOT LIABLE FOR FAILING TO PROTECT OFFICER'S WIFE, Lawyers USA, Boston, MA: September 24, 2007. Copyright © 2007 Dolan Media Newswires.
ABBOTT, TIMOTHY MARK CAMERON V. ABBOTT, JACQUELYN VAYE, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: November 24, 2009. Brief of Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment & Appeals Project (DV LEAP), Battered Women's Justice Project – Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs, Inc., National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Legal Momentum, and National Network to End Domestic Violence as Amici Curiae in support of respondent. Issue: Amici are concerned about the detrimental applications of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Oct. 25, 1980, T.I.A.S. No. 11670 (the "Convention") to abused women and children.
ABRAMSKI V. UNITED STATES, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: June 16, 2014. Issue: Straw purchasers of guns.
ADMISSION OF EXCITED UTTERANCE TO POLICE OFFICER IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE UPHELD, summarized by Wendy J. Murphy, New England School of Law, Boston, MA: June 14, 2004. See Court of Appeals of Indiana, Aaron G. Fowler v. Indiana, No. 49A02-0310-CR-930.
ALLEYNE V. UNITED STATES, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: June 17, 2013. Issue: Defendant was convicted in federal district court of using or carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence. During sentencing, defendant objected to the sentencing report that recommended a 7-year sentence, incorporating the longer minimum sentence mandated if the firearm was brandished during the crime. Defendant argued that increasing the mandatory minimum to seven years would violate his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial because it was clear from the jury verdict that the jury did not make the finding of fact that he brandished the weapon and therefore any increase would be improperly based on the judge's finding of fact.
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS CONDEMNS RULING AGAINST PHYSICIANS' RIGHT TO COUNSEL ON FIREARM SAFETY, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL: July 28, 2014.
ANTHONY MASTROIANNI, & C., APPELLANT, V. COUNTY OF SUFFOLK, ET AL., RESPONDENTS, 91 N.Y.2d 198, 691 N.E.2d 613, 668 N.Y.S.2d 542 (1997), December 2, 1997.
APESSOS V. MEMORIAL PRESS GROUP
APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS $1 MILLION AWARD FOR ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM, Associated Press and South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Miami, FL: December 23, 2004. Copyright © 2004 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. See Jane Doe v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., et al.
BARNEY FIFE REVISITED: GUNLESS DEPUTY LOSES JOB, Denlinger, Rosenthal & Greenberg, LPA, Ohio Employment Law Letter, (volume 15, issue 9), Brentwood, TN: September 2004. Copyright © 2004 M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC. See Morrison v. Warren, et al.
BAZE V. REES, COMMISSIONER, KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: April 16, 2008. Issue: lethal injection for death penalty.
BLAKELY V. WASHINGTON
BOOTH V. HVASS (302 F.3d 849, 2002), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, St. Paul, MN.
BOWEN V. CHEUVRONT – BRIEF AMICUS CURIAE OF THE NORTH DAKOTA STATE'S ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION, December 21, 2007. This Brief Amicus Curiae was prepared in connection with an issue about which the National Center for the Prosecution of Violence Against Women receives many requests for assistance: a court's preclusion of words and terms in a sexual assault case. In this case, the victim and the prosecution were precluded from using the terms "victim," "assailant" and "rape."
BRIEF AMICUS CURIAE, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Juan Luis Olivo, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, Harrisburg, PA: April 27, 2015. Issue: Victim behavior.
BRIEF FOR ORGANIZATIONS COMMITTED TO PROTECTING THE PUBLIC'S HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS, McDonald, Otis, et al., v. City of Chicago, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: January 2010. Question presented: Whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is incorporated as against the States by the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities or Due Process Clauses.
BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF SELF-PETITIONER'S (UNDER FORM I-360, VAWA) APPEAL, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Administrative Appeals Office, Washington, DC: December 8, 2014. See Amicus Curiae Brief in support of applicant's appeal, February 2, 2015.
BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER, M.A. as mother of J.D. v. José Padilla, Judge, Maricopa County, et al.,Child Justice Inc., DV Leap, First Star Institute, Massachusetts Citizens for Children, Vertigo Charitable Foundation LLC,Lauren's Kids, Children's Advocacy Institute, The Children's Justice Fund, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Washington, DC: 2016.
BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, Jane Doe v. United States Et Al, American Civil Liberties Union, updated April 23, 2018. Note: The ACLU and ten other organizations, including NCDSV, filed an amicus brief in support of Jane Doe, a former cadet in the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) who was subjected to sexual violence and harassment.
ABRAMSKI V. UNITED STATES, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: June 16, 2014. Issue: Straw purchasers of guns.
ADMISSION OF EXCITED UTTERANCE TO POLICE OFFICER IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE UPHELD, summarized by Wendy J. Murphy, New England School of Law, Boston, MA: June 14, 2004. See Court of Appeals of Indiana, Aaron G. Fowler v. Indiana, No. 49A02-0310-CR-930.
ALLEYNE V. UNITED STATES, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: June 17, 2013. Issue: Defendant was convicted in federal district court of using or carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence. During sentencing, defendant objected to the sentencing report that recommended a 7-year sentence, incorporating the longer minimum sentence mandated if the firearm was brandished during the crime. Defendant argued that increasing the mandatory minimum to seven years would violate his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial because it was clear from the jury verdict that the jury did not make the finding of fact that he brandished the weapon and therefore any increase would be improperly based on the judge's finding of fact.
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS CONDEMNS RULING AGAINST PHYSICIANS' RIGHT TO COUNSEL ON FIREARM SAFETY, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL: July 28, 2014.
ANTHONY MASTROIANNI, & C., APPELLANT, V. COUNTY OF SUFFOLK, ET AL., RESPONDENTS, 91 N.Y.2d 198, 691 N.E.2d 613, 668 N.Y.S.2d 542 (1997), December 2, 1997.
APESSOS V. MEMORIAL PRESS GROUP
APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS $1 MILLION AWARD FOR ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM, Associated Press and South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Miami, FL: December 23, 2004. Copyright © 2004 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. See Jane Doe v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., et al.
BARNEY FIFE REVISITED: GUNLESS DEPUTY LOSES JOB, Denlinger, Rosenthal & Greenberg, LPA, Ohio Employment Law Letter, (volume 15, issue 9), Brentwood, TN: September 2004. Copyright © 2004 M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC. See Morrison v. Warren, et al.
BAZE V. REES, COMMISSIONER, KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: April 16, 2008. Issue: lethal injection for death penalty.
BLAKELY V. WASHINGTON
BOOTH V. HVASS (302 F.3d 849, 2002), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, St. Paul, MN.
BOWEN V. CHEUVRONT – BRIEF AMICUS CURIAE OF THE NORTH DAKOTA STATE'S ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION, December 21, 2007. This Brief Amicus Curiae was prepared in connection with an issue about which the National Center for the Prosecution of Violence Against Women receives many requests for assistance: a court's preclusion of words and terms in a sexual assault case. In this case, the victim and the prosecution were precluded from using the terms "victim," "assailant" and "rape."
BRIEF AMICUS CURIAE, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Juan Luis Olivo, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, Harrisburg, PA: April 27, 2015. Issue: Victim behavior.
BRIEF FOR ORGANIZATIONS COMMITTED TO PROTECTING THE PUBLIC'S HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS, McDonald, Otis, et al., v. City of Chicago, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: January 2010. Question presented: Whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is incorporated as against the States by the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities or Due Process Clauses.
BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF SELF-PETITIONER'S (UNDER FORM I-360, VAWA) APPEAL, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Administrative Appeals Office, Washington, DC: December 8, 2014. See Amicus Curiae Brief in support of applicant's appeal, February 2, 2015.
BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER, M.A. as mother of J.D. v. José Padilla, Judge, Maricopa County, et al.,Child Justice Inc., DV Leap, First Star Institute, Massachusetts Citizens for Children, Vertigo Charitable Foundation LLC,Lauren's Kids, Children's Advocacy Institute, The Children's Justice Fund, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Washington, DC: 2016.
BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, Jane Doe v. United States Et Al, American Civil Liberties Union, updated April 23, 2018. Note: The ACLU and ten other organizations, including NCDSV, filed an amicus brief in support of Jane Doe, a former cadet in the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) who was subjected to sexual violence and harassment.
BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, Jane Doe v. Lt. Gen. Franklin Lee Hagenbeck and Brig. Gen. William E.
Rapp and United States of America, American Civil Liberties Union, American Association of University Women, Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic, Human Rights Watch, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence and National Women's Law Center, March 17, 2016.
BRIEF OF CHILD JUSTICE, INC., LEADERSHIP COUNCIL ON CHILD ABUSE AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE, AND FIRST STAR, INC. AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER, McClanahan v. Washington Co. Dept. of Social Services, Child Justice, Inc., Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence and First Star, Inc., September 9, 2015. Issue: a parent can be strictly liable for child abuse by mental injury by seeking medical help for her five year old based on the child’s disclosures and symptoms.
BURLINGTON NORTHERN & SANTA FE RAILWAY CO. V. WHITE
CALIF. JUSTICES CLEAR WAY FOR TESTIMONY ON DOMESTIC ABUSE, Mike McKee, Law.com, San Francisco, CA: August 4, 2004. Copyright © 2004 Yahoo! Inc. Copyright © 2004 NLP IP Company. See People v. Brown.
CAMRETA, BOB V. GREENE, SARAH and ALFORD, JAMES V. GREENE, SARAH, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: January, 2011. Brief of the Battered Women's Resource Center et al. as Amici Curiae in support of respondents. Issue: Decide on parental rights when children are interviewed & examined for abuse.
CITY OF CANTON V. HARRIS 489 US 378 (1989), Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC.
COATES v. STATE OF MARYLAND, Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Baltimore, MD: August 31, 2007. Important case re: limits on hearsay statements of SANE / SAFE / SART forensic witnesses.
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA V. GERALD A. SANDUSKY
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA V. MAKARA, EUGENE S. (APPEAL OF KIDSPEACE CORPORATION) (number 2011 MDA 2008), Pennsylvania Superior Court, August 26, 2009. Decision: due process required for third parties in criminal cases and guardians ad litem MUST be appointed by court for child victims. Case summary by Kathryn Schwartz, 2009.
COMMONWEALTH V. BARROS (disposition), Appeals Court of Massachusetts, 2013. Ruling: An expert may rely on hearsay as long as it is independently admissible and a permissible basis for an expert to use in formulating an opinion.
COMMONWEALTH V. KEVIN QUINN, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Essex County, MA: May 6, 2014 - September 11, 2014; Sexual Violence Legal News Online, Sheba Varughese. Issue: Exclusion of expert testimony as "vouching".
COMMONWEALTH V. SHANLEY
COOPER V. DISTRICT COURT – P.3D – 2006 WL 976894, Alaska Court of Appeals, Anchorage, AK: April 14, 2006. In this case, the victim of domestic violence, Cynthia Cooper, contended that the defendant had been illegally sentenced to a treatment program that was not one of the batterer's treatment programs approved by the Alaska Department of Corrections and appealed the sentence. The Court of Appeals held that, as a victim of crime, Ms. Cooper did not have standing to independently seek appellate review of a substantive sentencing decision by a trial court. The court specifically left open the question of whether a victim had standing to seek appellate review of the violation of a victim's procedural rights, such as the right to be heard at sentencing. Because the court also held that the sentence had not been illegal, it did not reach the issue of what the court would do if the records had revealed collusion on the part of the prosecutor, court and defendant to circumvent the sentencing law.
COURT RESTORES VERDICT AGAINST NEGLIGENT SHERIFF, Bob Anez, Associated Press, Livingston Enterprise, Livingston, MT: May 5, 2004. See 03-567 (05-05-04) Massee v. Thompson 2004 MT 121.
COURT RULING IS MIXED ON SEX HARASSMENT, Stephen Henderson and Larry Fish, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA: June 15, 2004. Copyright © 2004 The Philadelphia Inquirer. See Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders.
COURT TO RULE ON REPRESSED MEMORY IN SEXUAL ABUSE CASES, posted by John McKiggan Q.C., The Legal Examiner, Tampa, FL: January 16, 2012. Copyright © 2002-2012 Claris Law.
Rapp and United States of America, American Civil Liberties Union, American Association of University Women, Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic, Human Rights Watch, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence and National Women's Law Center, March 17, 2016.
BRIEF OF CHILD JUSTICE, INC., LEADERSHIP COUNCIL ON CHILD ABUSE AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE, AND FIRST STAR, INC. AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER, McClanahan v. Washington Co. Dept. of Social Services, Child Justice, Inc., Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence and First Star, Inc., September 9, 2015. Issue: a parent can be strictly liable for child abuse by mental injury by seeking medical help for her five year old based on the child’s disclosures and symptoms.
BURLINGTON NORTHERN & SANTA FE RAILWAY CO. V. WHITE
CALIF. JUSTICES CLEAR WAY FOR TESTIMONY ON DOMESTIC ABUSE, Mike McKee, Law.com, San Francisco, CA: August 4, 2004. Copyright © 2004 Yahoo! Inc. Copyright © 2004 NLP IP Company. See People v. Brown.
CAMRETA, BOB V. GREENE, SARAH and ALFORD, JAMES V. GREENE, SARAH, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC: January, 2011. Brief of the Battered Women's Resource Center et al. as Amici Curiae in support of respondents. Issue: Decide on parental rights when children are interviewed & examined for abuse.
CITY OF CANTON V. HARRIS 489 US 378 (1989), Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC.
COATES v. STATE OF MARYLAND, Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, Baltimore, MD: August 31, 2007. Important case re: limits on hearsay statements of SANE / SAFE / SART forensic witnesses.
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA V. GERALD A. SANDUSKY
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA V. MAKARA, EUGENE S. (APPEAL OF KIDSPEACE CORPORATION) (number 2011 MDA 2008), Pennsylvania Superior Court, August 26, 2009. Decision: due process required for third parties in criminal cases and guardians ad litem MUST be appointed by court for child victims. Case summary by Kathryn Schwartz, 2009.
COMMONWEALTH V. BARROS (disposition), Appeals Court of Massachusetts, 2013. Ruling: An expert may rely on hearsay as long as it is independently admissible and a permissible basis for an expert to use in formulating an opinion.
COMMONWEALTH V. KEVIN QUINN, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Essex County, MA: May 6, 2014 - September 11, 2014; Sexual Violence Legal News Online, Sheba Varughese. Issue: Exclusion of expert testimony as "vouching".
COMMONWEALTH V. SHANLEY
COOPER V. DISTRICT COURT – P.3D – 2006 WL 976894, Alaska Court of Appeals, Anchorage, AK: April 14, 2006. In this case, the victim of domestic violence, Cynthia Cooper, contended that the defendant had been illegally sentenced to a treatment program that was not one of the batterer's treatment programs approved by the Alaska Department of Corrections and appealed the sentence. The Court of Appeals held that, as a victim of crime, Ms. Cooper did not have standing to independently seek appellate review of a substantive sentencing decision by a trial court. The court specifically left open the question of whether a victim had standing to seek appellate review of the violation of a victim's procedural rights, such as the right to be heard at sentencing. Because the court also held that the sentence had not been illegal, it did not reach the issue of what the court would do if the records had revealed collusion on the part of the prosecutor, court and defendant to circumvent the sentencing law.
COURT RESTORES VERDICT AGAINST NEGLIGENT SHERIFF, Bob Anez, Associated Press, Livingston Enterprise, Livingston, MT: May 5, 2004. See 03-567 (05-05-04) Massee v. Thompson 2004 MT 121.
COURT RULING IS MIXED ON SEX HARASSMENT, Stephen Henderson and Larry Fish, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA: June 15, 2004. Copyright © 2004 The Philadelphia Inquirer. See Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders.
COURT TO RULE ON REPRESSED MEMORY IN SEXUAL ABUSE CASES, posted by John McKiggan Q.C., The Legal Examiner, Tampa, FL: January 16, 2012. Copyright © 2002-2012 Claris Law.
COURT UPHOLDS EX-WIFE’S RIGHT TO COMPLAIN, Rebecca Cook, Associated Press, July 8, 2004. Copyright © 2004 Associated Press. See Suggs v. Hamilton.
CRAWFORD V. WASHINGTON
CRIME VICTIM LAW UPDATE, National Crime Victim Law Institute, Portland, OR: July - September 2009. Copyright © 2009 National Crime Victim Law Institute.
CRUCIAL VICTORY IN THE FIGHT TO STOP HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ABUSE VICTIMS, Legal Momentum, New York, NY.
DAVIS V. WASHINGTON AND HAMMON V. INDIANA
DAWN FUENTES V. REVERE HOUSING AUTHORITY, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Appeals Courts, November 8, 2013. Issue: Should the Housing Authority hearing officer consider domestic violence as a potentially mitigating factor before terminating Section 8 benefits? Note: Jane Doe, Inc. and National Network to End Domestic Violence filed an amicus brief in this case.
DEAD WIVES TALKING, Wendy Murphy, Murphy's Law, August 17, 2009.
DECISION OF INTEREST: NEW YORK SUPREME COURT, BRONX COUNTY; CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR HARASSMENT NOT BARRED BY FAMILY COURT IMPRISONMENT FOR CONTEMPT, New York Law Journal, New York, NY: December 2, 2004. Copyright © 2004 ALM Properties, Inc.
CRAWFORD V. WASHINGTON
CRIME VICTIM LAW UPDATE, National Crime Victim Law Institute, Portland, OR: July - September 2009. Copyright © 2009 National Crime Victim Law Institute.
CRUCIAL VICTORY IN THE FIGHT TO STOP HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ABUSE VICTIMS, Legal Momentum, New York, NY.
DAVIS V. WASHINGTON AND HAMMON V. INDIANA
DAWN FUENTES V. REVERE HOUSING AUTHORITY, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Appeals Courts, November 8, 2013. Issue: Should the Housing Authority hearing officer consider domestic violence as a potentially mitigating factor before terminating Section 8 benefits? Note: Jane Doe, Inc. and National Network to End Domestic Violence filed an amicus brief in this case.
DEAD WIVES TALKING, Wendy Murphy, Murphy's Law, August 17, 2009.
DECISION OF INTEREST: NEW YORK SUPREME COURT, BRONX COUNTY; CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR HARASSMENT NOT BARRED BY FAMILY COURT IMPRISONMENT FOR CONTEMPT, New York Law Journal, New York, NY: December 2, 2004. Copyright © 2004 ALM Properties, Inc.
