Federal Sentencing Guidelines Zero Criminal History Amendment Will Be Retroactive The United States Sentencing Commission voted on August 24, 2023 to make the zero criminal history amendment to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines retroactive with a delayed effective date. The Sentencing Commission approved the retroactive application of the amendment, but determined that the amendment would not […]
11TH CIRCUIT OPINION ON “DRUG CODE” LANGUAGE EXPERT
September 29, 2021 by
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals released a decision on September 29, 2021, in which it addressed, among other issues, the Government’s use of an expert in interpreting drug code and drug language found in intercepted communications introduced at trial. In United States v. Eddie Lee Perry & Chad Ragin, eight co-defendants were indicted by […]
GETTING AN ALABAMA PARDON: FAQS
May 26, 2021 by
ALABAMA PARDONS ARE ADMINISTERED BY THE ALABAMA BUREAU OF PARDONS AND PAROLES The following facts will answer many common questions about getting an Alabama Pardon: WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR APPLYING FOR A PARDON IN ALABAMA? A person can apply for a pardon in Alabama if they have either completed his or her sentence or have […]
ALABAMA REDEEMER ACT / NEW ALABAMA EXPUNGEMENT LAW
April 28, 2021 by
The Alabama Redeemer Act is the newly passed Alabama expungement law. The Alabama Redeemer Act was signed into law on April 23, 2021, and becomes effective July 1, 2021. Under the new law, certain felony and misdemeanor convictions can now be expunged depending on the circumstances. This is a major shift from the prior expungement […]
RESENTENCING OF HABITUAL OFFENDERS PROPOSED
February 4, 2021 by
A 2021 ALABAMA HOUSE BILL PROPOSES RESENTENCING OF HABITUAL OFFENDERS WITH NON VIOLENT CONVICTIONS House Bill 24 proposes allowing resentencing of habitual offenders who have non-violent convictions prior to October 1, 2013. The proposed law would allow resentencing of habitual offenders under certain limited circumstances. People who were convicted of a non-violent offense prior to […]
SEARCH WARRANT APPEAL WIN
January 19, 2021 by
BRADFORD LADNER LLP WINS SEARCH WARRANT APPEAL WITH COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS UPHOLDING GRANT OF MOTION TO SUPPRESS ILLEGALLY SEIZED EVIDENCE Bradford Ladner wins search warrant appeal in the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. We successfully defended the trial court’s decision to grant a motion to suppress evidence that was illegally seized when a search […]
BRADFORD LADNER LLP WINS RETURN OF MONEY IN FEDERAL CIVIL FORFEITURE CASE
January 15, 2021 by
Client Avoids Civil Forfeiture and Gets $ 14,000 Returned Federal authorities started a federal civil forfeiture of over $14,000 after our client was stopped in a routine traffic stop by police while driving on I-20 in Alabama. Our client’s money was seized despite the fact that no criminal charges were ever filed. The client contacted […]
LIFE SENTENCE REVERSED ON DRUG TRAFFICKING APPEAL
January 15, 2021 by
Court of Criminal Appeals holds drug dog sniff violates 4th Amendment Recent Court of Criminal Appeals decision reversed Bradford Ladner’s client’s life sentence for drug trafficking, holding the trial court made the wrong ruling when it denied a motion to suppress evidence from a search warrant. Officers of the Mobile Police Department used a drug […]
COMPASSIONATE RELEASE FROM FEDERAL PRISON – COVID-19
May 12, 2020 by
Can I Get Compassionate Release From The Bureau Of Prisons? Compassionate Release is a way to get relief from the crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its threat to federal bureau of prison inmates. The statistics are alarming. Federal prisons can be a breeding ground for COVID-19. For example, the Federal Correctional Institution Lompac […]
COVID-19 / CORONOVIRUS UPDATE
March 25, 2020 by
Temporary COVID-19 / Coronavirus Changes to Office Procedure Etc. As you are aware, the current pandemic has created a host of issues affecting our clients and the courts. In an effort to keep our clients and potential clients abreast of how Bradford Ladner LLP is handling matters during this health crisis, we offer the following […]
BRADFORD LADNER WINS FEDERAL FORFEITURE CASE
November 5, 2019 by
William K. Bradford won a federal forfeiture case for the return of over a quarter of a million dollars to the client. The case involved nearly $300,000 dollars seized by the Government from a bank account belonging to our client, Minjuan Jiang. The victory came after a five day federal forfeiture trial in federal court […]
BILL WOULD FORBID USE OF ACQUITTED CONDUCT IN FEDERAL CRIMINAL SENTENCING
November 4, 2019 by
U. S. Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley have proposed bill to prohibit federal criminal sentencing based on acquitted conduct. The Senators have introduced the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2019. The Act would end the practice of judges increasing federal criminal sentencing based on conduct for which a defendant has been acquitted […]
APPEAL WAIVERS IN FEDERAL CRIMINAL CASES EXAMINED BY SUPREME COURT
November 6, 2018 by
Supreme Court Hears Argument on Appeal Waivers in Federal Criminal Cases The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument last week in a case concerning appeal waivers in Federal criminal cases. The appeal involves a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on an attorney failing to file an appeal when requested to do so […]
Marijuana Possession Charge Dismissed
January 11, 2018 by
Bradford Ladner has successfully obtained the dismissal of a marijuana possession charge for our client in Mobile County Alabama Circuit Court. Our client was initially charged with possession of marijuana as a result of the police serving a search warrant on her apartment. During the search of the apartment the police discovered marijuana and our […]
BRADFORD LADNER LLP OPENS MOBILE ALABAMA OFFICE
October 5, 2017 by
William K. “Chip” Bradford and Amber L. Ladner are proud to announce the opening of an office in Mobile, Alabama. This new office will allow us to better serve clients in the Mobile and Baldwin County area. The Mobile office is located in the historical Fort Conde area of downtown Mobile. The address of […]
Alabama Expungement Law Expands
October 5, 2017 by
Alabama Expungement Law Expands to Include Cases with Not Guilty Verdicts Even on Violent Offenses As of May 25, 2017, the Alabama Expungement Law has been expanded to allow expungement of cases where there was a not guilty verdict. The new expansion of the expungement law includes expungement of violent offenses where there is a […]
2017 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE ON ALABAMA CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
February 15, 2017 by
2017 Proposed Legislation Regarding Alabama Criminal Law and Procedure A number of bills have been introduced in the 2017 Alabama Legislative Session that relate to Alabama Criminal Law and Procedure. House Bill 12 – Mandatory Time for Certain Sex Offenses House Bill 12 provides that a person convicted of rape in the first degree, sodomy in […]
PROPOSED BILL EXPANDS ALABAMA EXPUNGEMENT LAW
February 15, 2017 by
House Bill 28 Proposes Expansion of Alabama Expungement Law To Include Some Convictions Representative Chris England of Tuscaloosa has introduced legislation to expand the Alabama Expungement law to include convictions for some misdemeanor and felony convictions. House bill 28 would expand the Alabama Expungement law to include convictions for misdemeanor offenses, traffic violations, municipal ordinance violations, […]
CLIENT FOUND NOT GUILTY OF SEX ABUSE CHARGE
July 6, 2016 by
Bradford Ladner Client NOT GUILTY Of Sex Abuse Charge After a hard fought and contentious trial, Bradford Ladner attorneys Amber Ladner and William Bradford won a not guilty verdict on a Sex Abuse charge in the Jefferson County Circuit Court in Birmingham, Alabama. In this case our client was charged with a two count sex […]
FEDERAL DRUG CHARGE DISMISSED IN MOBILE ALABAMA
June 21, 2016 by
Federal Drug Charge in Mobile Alabama Federal District Court Dismissed William K. “Chip” Bradford participated in a Federal drug charge appeal that led to the dismissal of all charges. The client’s trial counsel had successfully argued a motion to suppress the evidence found when an Alabama State Trooper searched the client’s car after a routine […]
