Criminal gun defendant asked for civil remedy

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted August 20, 2021 9:34 AM

Pre-trial motions from a felon who was indicted in Pennsylvania for allegedly possessing a Glock 19 semiautomatic pistol presented what U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan called a “legitimate concern — namely, the absence of procedural mechanisms for criminal defendants to challenge the sufficiency of the government’s allegations or evidence against them prior to trial, akin to a motion to dismiss or summary-judgment motion in the civil context.” U.S. v. Terry, 20-CR-43 (June 3, 2021).The defendant, Terrelle Smith (not …

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