So far we’ve spotted only a handful of decisions of note for the next email edition, all of which are after the jump

• Robert W. Jackson, III v. Danberg,  2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 2100 (3rd Cir 2/1/2010) Panel upholds Delaware letha l injection protocols but takes it to task for its “blitheness.”

• James Phillip Barnes v. State, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 172 (FL 2/4/2010) Mr. Barnes waived counsel, entered a plea of guilty, and presnented no mitigation at trial.  On appeal, no error is found, save for the failure to allow Mr. Barnes to review the PSI in this matter, which the Court holds, if error, was harmless error.

• Douglas Tyrone Armstrong v. State, AP-75,706  (Texas Crim App 1/27/2010) Relief denied on a grab bag of claims on direct appeal including: (1) “evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support his conviction for capital murder” (2) denial of continuance  “despite his announcement of ‘Not Ready’;” (3) “that the trial judge tacitly removed trial counsel from his defense by denying counsel more time to conduct a complete mitigation investigation;” (4) “that the trial judge erred in denying his motion for a new trial. Armstrong argues that the evidence presented during the hearing was more than sufficient to show that he was deprived of effective assistance of counsel;” and (5) “that the trial judge ‘erred by denying [his] motion to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of his detention because there existed no reasonable suspicion to conduct the investigative detention.”

• Johnson v. State, No.  —- (Texas Crim App 1/27/2010) (unpublished) Will have in the full length edition

• Huggins v. State,  2010 Fla. LEXIS 142 (FL 1/27/2010) State’s motion to dismiss unauthorized appeal granted.

• Ex parte Hunter, No.  —- (Texas Crim App 1/27/2010) (unpublished)Application for habeas corpus dismissed as an abuse of the writ.

• Ex parte Broxton, No.  —- (Texas Crim App 1/27/2010) (unpublished) Summary denial of postconviction application without substantive discussion

Noncapital

• Peterson v. Grisham, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 2116 (10th Cir 2/1/2010) (noncapital) “Ronald Williamson and Dennis Fritz were falsely accused, convicted and were serving death and life sentences respectively for Carter’s murder, when they were exonerated by DNA evidence in 1999. Grisham, Scheck and the former accused Dennis Fritz all wrote books concerning the failures of the DA and police in prosecuting and convicting the wrong men for the crime. Robert Mayer wrote his book about a similar case that also occurred in Ada. To put it mildly, descriptions of plaintiffs contained in the stories were not flattering. The plaintiffs sued, claiming  “a massive joint defamatory attack” by the defendants. The Court of Appeals found that the plaintiffs had failed in their second try at a complaint, to state a claim that could be remedied by the court. Under Oklahoma law, for a public official to prove defamation, they must show that false statements that they engaged in criminal behavior were made. Unlike some areas of the world where nearly any comment about an official can land the speaker in hot water, laws such as this provide even more leeway for discussion about officials and their performance of their public functions. According to the Court’s opinion, the plaintiffs failed to show that the defendants had made such false statements.” [h/t  Tonya Roth]

• Bolarinwa v. Williams, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 1886 (2nd Cir 1/28/2010)(noncapital) Mental illness can serve as a ground for equitable tolling of the one-year statute of limitations for filing habeas petitions