Probabilistic genotyping software like STRmix and TrueAllele produces DNA statistics in the trillions, but courts are split on whether defendants get to see the code behind the number. What the science does, and how to challenge it.
Louisiana’s new $100 million crime lab is bringing Rapid DNA, familial searching, and investigative genetic genealogy into routine use. A forensic DNA expert and defense attorney explains what each technology actually does, and where the science still has real limits.
The Louisiana Supreme Court stayed the criminal indictment against Attorney General Liz Murrill one day after it was returned. What a stay actually means, why this case skipped the normal procedural path, and what Chief Justice Weimer’s dissent teaches about due process in every Louisiana criminal case.
The Supreme Court dismissed Hamm v. Smith without resolving how courts should weigh multiple IQ scores in death penalty intellectual disability claims. What the non-decision means for Atkins claims going forward, including in Louisiana.
Louisiana’s new Act 526 (SB 523) requires courts to weigh a defendant’s documented history of domestic abuse, human trafficking, or sexual assault at sentencing, and opens earlier clemency for survivors serving life. Here is what defense counsel need to know before it takes effect August 1, 2026.
In Barrett v. United States, a unanimous Supreme Court held that one act violating both 18 U.S.C. 924(c) and 924(j) yields only one conviction. Here is what stacked federal gun charges look like after Barrett.
One Act, One Conviction: How Barrett v. United States Limits Stacked Federal Gun Charges Read Post »
The prosecutor offers a deal. Plead guilty, and the charge gets smaller, or the sentence gets shorter. It sounds like
Should You Take a Plea Deal in a Louisiana Felony Case? Read Post »
A second degree murder charge in Louisiana means the State is trying to put you in prison for the rest
Second Degree Murder in Louisiana: Charges, Sentencing, and How the Case Is Fought Read Post »
A DNA “match” feels like the end of your case. It isn’t. DNA evidence can be wrong, overstated, contaminated, or
How DNA Evidence Can Be Challenged in a Louisiana Criminal Case Read Post »
In Hunter v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that federal appeal waivers are unenforceable when they would produce a miscarriage of justice. Here is what that means for defendants who signed away the right to appeal.
