The sixty-day legislative session has ended its third week. As of this writing, there are 353 bills pending in the House of Representatives and 372 pending in the Senate. All bills are routed through relevant committees in each chamber and those committees provide recommendations to the full body as to whether or not the bill should be passed. While this…
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2023 Legislative Update #2
Today marks the end of the second week of this year’s sixty-day legislative session. As we stated previously, any bill can be introduced for consideration during a 60-day session. We had anticipated that there would be several “tough-on-crime” bills introduced. Some of these proposals are retreads from previous sessions and others are brand new. We will need additional time to…
Read More2023 Legislative Update #1
The New Mexico Legislature convened for a 30-day session this past Tuesday. This will be a sixty-day session which means any bill can be introduced for consideration. Lawmakers from both political parties say crime will be a dominant issue in the session, as it was in last year’s gubernatorial race. What remains to be seen is whether Democrats and Republicans…
Read MoreSeventh Circuit affirms Wisconsin’s lifetime GPS monitoring
By Larry . . . NARSOL is disappointed in the outcome of a GPS challenge just decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from Wisconsin. The case is Benjamin Braam, Alton Antrim, and Dan Olszewski v. Kevin Carr, Wisconsin Secretary of Corrections. Wisconsin Statute § 301.48(2)(a)(7) requires lifetime monitoring of offenders who have been convicted of…
Read MoreEntrapment and ineffective assistance of counsel win the day — Illinois Supreme Court vacates conviction
By Larry . . . The People of the State of Illinois v. Shane Lewis (Docket No. 126705) decided June 24, 2022, deals with an egregious abuse by law enforcement and was clearly entrapment by any objective standard. Shane Lewis was charged with involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, traveling to meet a minor, and grooming. At trial, he asserted the defense of…
Read MoreLegislative Update #4
The 2022 legislative session will adjourn at noon on Thursday. The session has had some surprises that we had not anticipated. Although this year’s session has proven to be focused on cracking down on crime, nothing has passed through the process as of this writing. Due to the fact that 2022 is an election year for the office of Governor…
Read MoreLegislative Update #3
Legislative Update #3 This 30-day session has unfolded as we had anticipated. This year’s session has proven to be focused on cracking down on crime, and there are several competing proposals. The cutoff for introduction of legislation was February 2nd which means all the bills we need to analyze are in the system. Although crime has been an issue in New Mexico for several years, many have gotten on the bandwagon since this is an…
Read MoreLegislative Update #2
We had anticipated that this year’s session would be dueling get-tough on crime proposals. As we approach the mid-point of the session, that has proven to be the case. The cutoff for introduction of legislation is February 2nd which means more bills are yet to come. Crime has been an issue in New Mexico for several years and now many…
Read MoreLegislative Update #1
The New Mexico Legislature convened for a 30-day session on January 18th. As we had anticipated, early indications are this will be a year of dueling get-tough on crime proposals from the governor as well as those seeking the office. The governor announced her proposals in advance of the session. Those priorities include: Imposing a “rebuttable presumption,” which shifts the…
Read MoreSeventh Circuit Court of Appeals Overturns Previous Victory
y Larry . . . NARSOL previously reported on the case of Brian Hope v. Commissioner of Indiana Department of Correction, which was favorably decided by a three-judge panel back in January. Unfortunately, the Seventh Circuit granted Indiana’s request for en banc review, and the full court has now turned that victory into a defeat. Trial Court History United States District Court…
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