Assault
6 articles on assault from Gavel Daily.
A Colorado Judge Threw Out a Felony Case Without Finding the DNA Analyst Ever Touched It. The State Supreme Court Wants Him to Explain Why.
On August 2, 2026, a Weld County judge dismissed a felony child sexual assault case over the CBI DNA scandal, even though prosecutors say analyst Yvonne "Missy" Woods altered nothing in that specific case. The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered him to explain by September 16, and the answer could change what more than 1,000 Colorado defendants are able to ask for.
Alabama Can Seek the Death Penalty for Crimes That Killed No One Starting October 1, and the Sponsor Says That Is the Point
Alabama's Child Predator Death Penalty Act takes effect October 1, 2026, making first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, and sexual torture capital offenses when the victim is under 12. The Supreme Court held in Kennedy v. Louisiana that the Eighth Amendment forbids exactly this. The bill's sponsor agrees, and says forcing the Court to reconsider is the whole strategy. Here is what actually changes for anyone charged.
Pennsylvania's Deadline to Fix Life Without Parole Expired on July 24, and 1,100 Sentences Are Now in Limbo
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down mandatory life without parole for second-degree murder in March, then gave lawmakers 120 days to write a replacement. The deadline came and went with no law. Roughly 1,100 people now hold a constitutional right that only one of them can currently enforce.
Mullen v. Giordano: How a Fired Cop's First Amendment Win Could Help Protesters Beat Disorderly Conduct and Assault Charges
A federal judge in Arizona just found that an off-duty Phoenix sergeant fired after showing up masked and armed at a high school anti-ICE walkout had a strong First Amendment case. The same private-citizen and recording-as-speech logic cuts hard in favor of protesters facing disorderly conduct and assault charges.
A Hung Jury Is Not an Acquittal: After Another Weinstein Mistrial, Can New York Put Him on Trial a Third Time?
A Manhattan jury deadlocked again on the Jessica Mann rape count against Harvey Weinstein, ending in a mistrial. Here is why a hung jury is constitutionally different from an acquittal, and what it means for whether New York can try the count yet again.
Falsely Accused of Assault and Awarded $500,000: How Targets of False Police Reports Are Winning Damages
A New York jury found two people lied to a court officer to get an attorney arrested. An appeals court upheld their liability for defamation, false arrest, and malicious prosecution while cutting the damages to a net $500,000. Here is how targets of fabricated police reports turn a dismissed charge into a civil claim.