Source: nationaltoday.com 3/30/26 Appellate panel reverses charges against Gerald Lopez, says evidence was insufficient to support child pornography conviction. A state appellate court panel has vacated sexual misconduct charges against a former Granite Hills High School teacher, Gerald Lopez, who was accused of engaging with a minor student in 2022. The court reversed Lopez’s conviction on a child sex abuse material possession charge and a charge of child molestation, but said he can be retried for child molestation. Why it matters This case highlights the complexities around prosecuting teacher-student…
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OR: Accused child molester’s conviction overturned because judge wouldn’t remind jury that he was innocent until proven guilty
Source: oregonlive.com 8/26/24 A Washington County judge’s attempt at saving time by declining to read aloud a lengthy set of legal principles to a jury — including that the defendants are presumed innocent unless they are proven guilty — has prompted the Oregon Court of Appeals to throw out a man’s convictions for repeatedly sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl. In reversing the convictions and 50-year prison sentence of 35-year-old Derek ___, the Appeals Court said it was recognizing the “Extreme importance” that jurors understand the “fundamental constitutional” rules at play…
Read MoreCA: California death row inmate to be freed; no retrial planned
[kcra.com 4/17/18] BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — A man who spent nearly 25 years on California’s death row for raping and killing a toddler before his conviction was overturned won’t be retried and could be freed within days, authorities said Tuesday. Vicente Benavides Figueroa, 68, has remained in prison even though the state Supreme Court last month overturned his 1993 conviction on grounds that medical testimony at his trial was false. Advertisement Many doctors who testified to the cause of the girl’s injuries recanted. Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green announced…
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