The U.S. Supreme Court denied review of Ghislaine Maxwell’s convictions for sex trafficking of a minor and other crimes this week, according to SCOTUSblog. Maxwell, the longtime partner and co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison. The denial marks the end of Maxwell’s hopes for relief on direct appeal. On the Second Amendment front, the Court recently agreed to hear a challenge to Hawaii’s criminal prohibition on carrying concealed handguns on private property without express authorization by the property owner. The Ninth Circuit previously upheld the law. The Court declined to review a decision of the Eighth Circuit striking down Missouri’s law forbidding state law enforcement officials from enforcing federal gun rules that state officials believe violate the Second Amendment, as noted here (a deeper analysis of the case is here for those interested). Read on for more criminal law news. Prosecutor Allegedly Disciplined for Returning Not Guilty Verdict. According to this article from the Volokh Conspiracy, a prosecutor’s complaint for First Amendment retaliation against the Nashville, Tennessee District Attorney’s Office can proceed. The plaintiff claimed that she was demoted and placed on involuntary leave after serving on a criminal jury which returned a not guilty verdict. Despite a policy of the district attorney’s office to encourage jury service by employees, the plaintiff alleges that she was “berated” over her service, that the elected district attorney was “outraged that she was the foreperson, and accused her of unethical conduct.” The office then allegedly removed her from [...]
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