Dean v United States : U.S. Supreme Court, (04/29/09): Criminal Law. Defendant's firearm conviction is affirmed where defendant claimed he unintentionally fired his gun during a robbery, but 18 U.S.C. section 924(c)(1)(A)(iii) requires no separate proof of intent, and its 10-year mandatory minimum applies if a gun is discharged in the course of a violent or drug trafficking crime, whether on purpose or by accident.

Nken v Holder, Attorney General : U.S Supreme Court, (04/22/09): Immigration, Civil Procedure. The Court of Appeals' denial of Petitioner's motion to stay his removal pending judicial review of a BIA ruling is reversed, where traditional stay factors, not the demanding 8 U.S.C. section 1252(f)(2) standard, govern a Court of Appeals' authority to stay an alien's removal pending judicial review.

Arizona v Gant : U.S Supreme Court, (04/21/09): Criminal Law: Search & Seizure. The Arizona Supreme Court's reversal of Defendant's drug conviction is affirmed, where police may search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to a recent occupant's arrest only if it is reasonable to believe that an arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search or that the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.

Corley v United States : U.S. Supreme Court, (04/06/09): Criminal Law. Confessions. Defendant's bank robbery conviction is vacated, where the District Court erred by denying Defendant's motion to suppress his confession under McNabb v. US, and Mallory v. US, based on the government's delay in bringing him before a judge, where 18 U.S.C. section 3501 modified McNabb-Mallory but did not supplant it.

Forensic Psychological Assessment : Article kindly provided by X-Pro member Dr Steven Shapse. Psychological assessment findings may be utilized for a variety of purposes in family, civil, criminal and clinical matters. Examples include clinical diagnosis, competency to stand trial, bail hearings, sentencing, and the establishment of impaired judgment or diminished capacity. In civil matters, findings assist in custody determinations, allegations of sexual abuse, and in the establishment of trauma or other psychic injury.