Background: Ricky Santos Cruz was charged with four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving I.M., who was under fourteen when the conduct occurred. Three counts alleged that Cruz touched I.M.’s genital area, and the fourth alleged that he caused her to touch his. Each count also carried a vulnerable-victim special allegation. The indictment placed all…
Held: The court held that the variance was real but immaterial and affirmed the convictions. A variance warrants reversal only when it affects substantial rights by denying adequate notice or exposing the accused to a significant double-jeopardy risk. Although the indictment’s timeframe did not match the proof for two counts, time is not an element of criminal sexual conduct under Guam…
Background: Indigent defendants brought a putative class action challenging systemic deficiencies in Idaho’s county-based public-defense system, including excessive caseloads, inadequate staffing and support services, insufficient training and supervision, and improper political or judicial influence. After two earlier appeals, the Idaho Supreme Court had held that the plaintiffs could obtain prospective relief by proving widespread, persistent structural…
Held: The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed. It held that the district court erred procedurally by granting a Rule 12(b)(1) motion because prudential mootness concerns a court’s equitable remedial discretion, not its subject-matter jurisdiction. The error was harmless, however, because the district court’s decision to withhold broader injunctive relief was independently dispositive.
Background: In an earlier order dated September 6, 2026, the High Court directed the respondents to coordinate the petitioners’ return to their homes within 14 days. The respondents did not file a timely request for an extension or otherwise respond within that period. On September 22, they submitted a brief notice stating that a coordinated and…
Held: In this interim decision, the Court ordered the respondents to permit the petitioners, within 14 days, to bring engineers, appraisers, renovation contractors, and other professionals to the homes to assess the damage, plan repairs, and estimate how long restoration would take. Within 30 days, the petitioners must be allowed to begin bringing their professionals to the properties continuously as needed,…
Background: Robert and Brenda Fahn rented a Kauaʻi property managed by The Parrish Collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because Robert had heart disease and faced an increased risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19, the Fahns asked Parrish to waive a lease provision requiring weekly cleanings by Parrish’s housekeeping staff. Parrish rejected the requested waiver, proposed…
Held: The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court affirmed the ICA’s judgment vacating summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings. Adopting a framework informed by federal fair-housing and disability law, the court held that a plaintiff initially must show that an accommodation may be necessary to provide an equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing and that the accommodation is reasonable on its face…
Background: Jeremy Jarrett pleaded guilty in 2010 to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a nine-year-old girl. The Kanawha County Circuit Court sentenced him to consecutive one-to-five-year prison terms and fifty years of supervised release. Its 2011 order imposed conditions including restrictions on living or working around minors and a general requirement that Jarrett follow…
Held: The Supreme Court of Appeals reversed the revocation. The two conditions Jarrett was found to have violated were not imposed by the sentencing court in the 2011 order; probation officers added them later without a hearing at which Jarrett had counsel. Under West Virginia law and Rule 32.1(b), a probation officer may administer and enforce court-imposed conditions, but may not…
Background: The claimant is a four-year-old child with disabilities whose family rented its home from a housing association. The underlying judicial-review claim concerned adaptations to that home, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ statutory duties, its assessment of the child’s needs, and the role of resources and perceived resource constraints in its decision-making. After urgent interim…
Held: Fordham J granted permission for judicial review after the council stated that it did not resist permission. The judge held only that the claim was arguable with a realistic prospect of success; he did not decide the merits of the underlying dispute. No permission-stage basis for dismissing the claim had been identified fairly or in a timely response.
Background: During the night of 1–2 August 2025, two groups became involved in fighting outside a home in Ōtara after one group arrived over an unresolved dispute with Pongia’s cousin. Pongia introduced a knife into the otherwise unarmed confrontation. He stabbed 19-year-old Greig Temarama-Abela once in the upper back while Temarama-Abela had his back turned and…
Held: Downs J held that life imprisonment, although presumptively required for murder under s 102(1) of the Sentencing Act 2002, would be manifestly unjust in Pongia’s case. The case was “right on the cusp,” given Pongia’s use of a knife, the attack from behind on a person who had not assaulted him, his voluntary entry into the fight, and his stabbing…
Background: Deanna Robertson, an Ohio attorney whose practice consisted primarily of representing indigent criminal defendants in Cuyahoga County, submitted certified fee applications for court-appointed work. An Ohio Public Defender audit found numerous days on which her combined applications claimed excessive hours, including seven days exceeding 24 hours and other periods with unusually high totals.
Held: The Supreme Court of Ohio held that clear and convincing evidence established a violation of Prof.Cond.R. 8.4(c), which prohibits conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. Robertson’s certifications were incorrect and inflated because of inaccurate timekeeping, double billing during evidence downloads, and billing for support-staff time.
Background: Alexicon Pty Ltd sued Voula Alexiou, both personally and as executrix of Con Alexiou’s estate, and VLN Holdings Pty Ltd. Alexicon alleged that Voula, as director or de facto director and attorney for the deceased, and the deceased himself, caused Alexicon to incur liabilities and make payments that benefited Voula or VLN. The claims include…
Held: Richmond J held that Alexicon’s proceedings were not an abuse of process. The earlier proceedings concerned Arthur’s family provision claim against the estate, whereas Alexicon now pursued its own claims for alleged breaches of statutory and equitable duties. The earlier court had not determined those claims or made factual findings on them; indeed, the claims brought on Alexicon’s behalf had…
Background: Accomack County hired Allstate Towers, Inc. to drill new foundations for guy wires supporting a communications tower, and Allstate subcontracted the drilling work to Dietzel Enterprises, Inc. During the project, Dietzel employee Kelvin Finck walked a steel cable into an A&N Electric Cooperative overhead high-voltage line located within ten feet of the worksite. Finck was…
Held: The Supreme Court of Virginia answered the first certified question yes: Code § 59.1-413 exempted Allstate’s and Dietzel’s work from the Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act. The court held that the communications tower was an overhead communication circuit or conductor, that its guy-wire foundations were supporting structures, and that the tower was part of a communications system. The contractors…
Background: Sun Hongmin and Wo Wei Dong, PRC citizens undergoing divorce proceedings in China, disputed the ownership of US$1.095 million transferred into the account of The Sub Rosa Capitol Pte Ltd. Sun applied in Singapore for a freezing injunction, alleging that the funds were matrimonial assets and that Zeng Lixin held the source Hong Kong bank…
Held: Justice Mavis Chionh dismissed Wo’s application for leave to commence committal proceedings. Although Wo’s affidavit adequately identified the alleged contempt, he had not shown a prima facie case that Sun’s alleged false affidavit fell within either section 4(1)(a) or section 4(1)(b) of the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016.
Background: Four Republican legislative candidates filed nominating petitions for the June 9, 2026 primary, were placed on the ballot by the Secretary of State, and won their respective Republican nominations. Petitioners Evans and Hoverson were among the unsuccessful primary candidates.
Held: The North Dakota Supreme Court declined to exercise its discretionary original jurisdiction and denied the mandamus petition. The court held that petitioners' delay created substantial prejudice to the candidates and was inequitable in light of the ongoing election and the fact that the correction period had expired.