Brown & Nieto this week filed a federal habeas petition on behalf of Christopher Jones, who was falsely convicted in 2015 by allegedly corrupt Baltimore City Police officer Daniel Hersl. Jones has maintained his innocence since he was first arrested in Baltimore City and charged with drugs and a gun. According to Jones, Officer Hersl…

The Firm is happy to announce that today we defeated a life sentence in federal court. Eleven years ago, while represented by different counsel, D.E. was sentenced to life imprisonment for a non-violent drug offense. Because he had at least two prior drug convictions, he received a mandatory life sentence, without the possibility of parole….

Syed today filed his conditional application for leave to cross appeal. Essentially, we are asking the Court of Special Appeals that, if it hears the State’s appeal of Judge Welch’s Order, we also want to appeal. The state wants to appeal the cell tower issue, upon which the new trial was granted, and we would want to…

In the past two years we have heard that Congress is on the brink of passing legislation that would reform our criminal justice system — by shifting away from the practice of warehousing drug offenders in prison, and moving in the direction of rehabilitation. This was one thing, it was reported, upon which Republicans and…

We have received many inquiries about whether Adnan Syed’s re-opened post-conviction hearing — currently scheduled for Feb. 4 and Feb. 5 — will be televised or broadcast in any form. Initially we were dismissive of the possibility. Now we’re not so sure. Maryland has a law that prohibits the broadcast of criminal proceedings. The statute,…

Syed’s Motion to Re-Open Post-Conviction proceedings was granted today. Syed will be allowed to introduce evidence related to the alibi and the cell tower issue. The hearing date has yet to be determined. Here is the link to Judge Welch’s Order:…

Brian Parker, a client of the Firm, was cleared today of all federal charges against him. Federal prosecutors had alleged that Parker was a leader of a Cherry Hill drug conspiracy. But yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to drop all charges against him, and a motion to dismiss was granted today by a federal…

More than two years have passed since federal prosecutors handed down a massive indictment charging gang members and correctional officers with operating a drug conspiracy inside the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). The story gained national media attention and the U.S. Attorney’s Office trumpeted its success in getting convictions of all but a few of…

Read the Firm’s cover story in The Champion magazine about Stingray technology, the latest frontier in Fourth Amendment law: STINGRAY ARTICLE…

Lost in the excitement over the Supreme Court’s blockbuster decisions last week was a significant, albeit technical, case dealing with federal sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The ruling should help a significant number of federal defendants who are serving harsh mandatory sentences. These people may be entitled to substantial sentence reductions. In…

The Law Office of C. Justin Brown this week obtained a sentence reduction of 97 months for a federal inmate. Sentence reductions of this magnitude are rarely seen in federal court. The client was convicted on drug charges in 2007 following a four-day jury trial. He was sentenced to 240 months (20 years) in prison….

Remember when it looked like the Fourth Circuit was on the brink of a significant change? When, after Obama got his nominees on the court, it would go from being super conservative to progressive? Well, that day has not yet come. The court today issued a major opinion that is heartbreaking for a class of…

Click here to read Syed’s Opening Brief with the Court of Special Appeals, filed 3/23/15: APPELLANT’S BRIEF…

The Firm today filed a supplement to its appeal in the Adnan Syed case today. The full filing can be found here: Syed Supplement FINAL….

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals this month issued a disappointing en banc opinion in U.S. v. Whiteside. At issue was whether Whiteside could obtain relief from a sentence in which he had been wrongly classified as a career offender. The panel held that he could not get relief because his petition was filed too late. The…

The ACLU has filed a amicus brief in a case being handled by the Law Office of C. Justin Brown. The case, United States v. Harrison, presents a cutting-edge legal issue: whether Baltimore City Police violated the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights when it used a Stingray device to track his phone. (Click HERE to read…

The most popular podcast ever (at least so we think) is about a client currently represented by the Firm. The Firm represents Adnan Syed, who was convicted in 2000 of the murder of Hae Min Lee. Our representation extends to his post-conviction petition, which was denied, and the appeal of that denial, which is currently…

We have received extensive media coverage for our efforts to recover $122k for one of our clients in a federal civil forfeiture case. Here are links to some of the recent articles: Baltimore City Paper, “Frisky Business Above the Law, “Did an AUSA Knowingly Produce a Forged Document Just to Get a Forfeiture Judgment?” Baltimore…

In an extraordinary decision with sweeping consequences to federal drug sentencing, the United States Sentencing Commission has voted unanimously to make the two-point drug reduction for federal prisoners fully retroactive. According to the Commission, the amendment will have an instruction that prohibits any person from getting released until Nov 1, 2015. It is estimated that…

“We owe C. Justin Brown such a debt of gratitude and there is nothing I can write in this review that will do justice to how my family and I feel about him and the job he did in representing my brother in a recent criminal defense case. Last year, my brother was arrested for…