More from this issue:

1. A Nation on the Brink, by Christopher Zoukis
2. Office of Homeland Security Circumventing Warrant Requirement by Buying Cellphone Location Data from Marketing Firm, by Anthony Accurso
3. From the Editor, by Richard Resch
4. Using Location Surveillance to Fight COVID-19 May Chill Free Speech and Association, by David Reutter
5. This Is Not a Revolution. It’s a Blueprint for Locking Down the Nation, by John W. Whitehead
6. Fourth Circuit Expands Savings Clause of § 2255(e) to Include Later Retroactivity of New Rule, by Dale Chappell
7. Seventh Circuit: Defendant’s Statement Given to Pretrial Services Can’t Be Admitted to Impeach Witness at Trial, by Douglas Ankney
8. California Court of Appeal Explains Procedural Requirements for Vacating Felony-Murder Conviction Via Section 1170.95 Petition, by Douglas Ankney
9. Police Violence Detrimental to Public Health, by Douglas Ankney
10. Congressmen File Amicus Brief Stressing Congressional Intent That First Step Act’s New Drug Laws Apply at Resentencing, by Dale Chappell
11. Indiana Supreme Court: Removal of Police’s GPS Tracker on Suspect’s Vehicle Not Probable Cause of Theft, Suppression of Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
12. New Hampshire Supreme Court: Police Violated Miranda in Obtaining First Statement, and State Failed to Prove Second Statement Was Voluntary, by Douglas Ankney
13. 5-Year Study Shows Police Stop Black Drivers Less Often at Night When ‘Veil of Darkness’ Obscures Race, by Douglas Ankney
14. Declassified Court Ruling Details FBI Abuses of Mass Surveillance Data, by Anthony Accurso
15. Second Circuit: Three Important Rulings Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
16. Marijuana Possession in Virginia Remains Illegal But Is Decriminalized, by Douglas Ankney
17. Eleventh Circuit Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Doesn’t Trigger Career Offender Enhancement, by Dale Chappell
18. COVID-19 Creates Opportunity for Big Brother in the Sky, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
19. Biden Accuser Accused of Inflating Credentials to Qualify as Expert Witness, Calling Convictions into Question, by Derek Gilna
20. Perjurous New York City Cop Sentenced to a Single Day in Jail, by Edward Lyon
21. Nebraska Supreme Court: Multiple Theft Charges for Stealing Items Belonging to Several People at Same Time and Place Violates Double Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
22. Fourth Circuit: Standalone Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Vacatur of Guilty Plea, by David Reutter
23. Is the Death Penalty Slowly Dying Across the Nation?, by Chad Marks
24. Joint State-Federal Task Forces Practice Rogue Justice Under Protection of Qualified Immunity, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
25. Colorado Supreme Court: Requiring Defense to Disclose Exhibits to Prosecution Before Trial Violates Due Process Rights, by Dale Chappell
26. Iowa Supreme Court Orders Dismissal of Charges that State Brought in Breach of Plea Agreement, by Douglas Ankney
27. Justice Office Awards $145 Million in Forensic Science Grants, by Anthony Accurso
28. Carpenter Slowly Remaking Fourth Amendment Case Law, by Anthony Accurso
29. California Federal Court Rejects Plea Agreement’s Waiver of Compassionate Release Provision, by David Reutter
30. Aggressive NYPD Police Tactics Spreading COVID-19, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
31. COVID-19 Causing Some Pretrial Detainees to Spend More Time in Jail, by Douglas Ankney
32. California Supreme Court Announces Sentencing Law Changes Apply Until Revocation Sentence Becomes Final, by Anthony Accurso
33. NY Court of Appeals: Right to Review Suppression Decision When Decision Relates Solely to a Count Satisfied by Plea but Isn’t Count to Which Defendant Pled, by Douglas Ankney
34. Report: Cops Ill-Equipped to Handle Mental Illness Crisis in Hospitals, by Edward Lyon
35. Plenty of Practice Prevents Poor Police Performance, by Edward Lyon
36. Fifth Circuit Clarifies How ‘Pronouncement Requirement’ Applies to Supervision Conditions, by Douglas Ankney
37. First Circuit: Sentence Imposed Under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(c) Is ‘Covered Offense’ Under § 404 of First Step Act, by Douglas Ankney
38. Minnesota Supreme Court: Hotel Guests Have Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Registry Information, by Douglas Ankney
39. Sixth Circuit: Courts May Consider Good Prison Conduct in Sentence Reduction Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
40. DNA Database of NYC’s Chief Medical Examiner Plagued with Errors, by Douglas Ankney
41. South Carolina Supreme Court Rejects U.S. Supreme Court’s Shifting of Burden to Defendant to Prove Absence of Exigent Circumstances in DUI Cases, by Douglas Ankney
42. Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Expired Vehicle Registration Isn’t ‘Breach of the Peace’ Justifying Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
43. Report: Risk Assessment Tools not Effective, Especially When not Used, by Kevin Bliss
44. Sixth Circuit: District Court’s Refusal to Reduce Crack Sentence Under First Step Act Requires Justification, by Dale Chappell
45. Florida Supreme Court Abandons Circumstantial Evidence Review Standard, by David Reutter
46. Courts Oppose Prosecutors’ Attempts to Right Past Wrongs, by Douglas Ankney
47. No Trust Between Police and Communities They Patrol, by Kevin Bliss
48. COVID-19 May Ring in a New Era of High-Tech Private Policing, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
49. North Carolina Supreme Court: Giving Finger to Police Not Disorderly Conduct Justifying Traffic Stop, by Dale Chappell
50. New Technique Separates Mixed DNA Evidence to Tell Suspects from Victims, by Dale Chappell
51. Feds Ramp up Purchase of Riot Gear in Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic, by Douglas Ankney
52. Army Veteran Serving Life Without Parole for Taking $9, by Douglas Ankney
53. Sixth Circuit Vacates Firearms Possession Conviction; Government Showed Jury Unauthenticated Prejudicial Facebook Video Not Admitted as Evidence, by Matthew Clarke
54. News in Brief

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Seventh Circuit Announces Safety Valve Relief Under § 3553(f) Is Narrower Than Guidelines Firearms Enhancement Under § 2D1.1(b)(1), District Court Erred by Conflating Them, May 15, 2024
• Fourth Circuit: Maryland’s First-Degree Assault Statute Is Indivisible so Conviction Is Not an ACCA Predicate for Sentencing Enhancement Purposes, May 15, 2024
• Tenth Circuit: Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Where Plea Counsel Materially Misrepresented Defendant’s Right to Impartial Jury Selected Through Racially Nondiscriminatory Means, May 15, 2024
• California Supreme Court: Jury’s Finding of Intent to Kill for Gang Enhancement, Standing Alone, Insufficient to Find Prisoner Failed to State a Prima Facie Case in § 1172.6 Petition for Resentencing on First-Degree Murder Conviction, May 15, 2024
• Non-Toxic Fluorescent Spray Reveals Fingerprints in Seconds, May 15, 2024
• New York Court of Appeals: SORA Designation Violates Defendant’s Due Process Rights Where Crime Involved No Sexual Contact or Motivation and Defendant Was Not a Sex Offender and Posed No Risk of Sexual Threat, May 15, 2024
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Defendants Under Age 21 Ineligible for LWOP Sentences, May 15, 2024
• New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Extension of Eyewitness Identification Safeguards of Henderson to Pretrial Preparation Sessions and Provides Framework for Showing Photos During Pretrial Phase, May 15, 2024
• Sixth Circuit Announces Untimely Notice of Appeal That Provides Reason for Tardiness May Be Construed as Motion to Reopen, May 15, 2024
• $175,000 Awarded to Former California Detainee Whose Suit Prompted DOJ Investigation and Settlement Requiring Structural Changes at Jail, April 26, 2024

More from these topics:

• Report Finds Bad Forensic Evidence Leads to More Wrongful Convictions and Establishes Forensic Errors Typology, May 15, 2024. junk science, Wrongful Conviction.
• Non-Toxic Fluorescent Spray Reveals Fingerprints in Seconds, May 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, junk science, Fingerprint Evidence, Latent Fingerprint Evidence.
• The FBI’s Rapidly Expanding DNA Database, April 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, Databases, Police State-Surveillance.
• New York Court of Appeals Reverses Conviction Because Testifying Criminalist Not Shown to Have Requisite Involvement in DNA Testing Process and Provides Guidance to Avoid Future Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause Violations, March 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, Eyewitness Testimony, Crime Lab Reports.
• Lung Float Test: Junk Science Used to Convict Women of Murder, March 15, 2024. junk science, Wrongful Conviction.
• Studying Ant Bites on Cadavers May Advance Criminal Investigations, March 15, 2024. junk science.
• The Supreme Court’s Forensic Follies, March 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, junk science.
• The Potential for Soil Dust Analysis in Forensics, March 15, 2024. junk science.
• HRDC Wins $14 Million Settlement for Exonerated Florida Prisoner, March 1, 2024. Informants, junk science, Wrongful Conviction, HRDC Litigation.
• Study Raises Alarms About Inaccuracies and Bias in Gun Forensics Reporting, Feb. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, junk science, Eyewitness Testimony.