More from this issue:

1. The Debunking of Forensic Science: A Decade of Increased Scrutiny Reveals Forensic Processes Prone to Bias and Error, by Casey Bastian
2. California Court of Appeal: At Felony-Murder Resentencing Hearing, Court May Not Deny Relief Based on Findings That Are Inconsistent With Previous Acquittal, by Douglas Ankney
3. You’d Better Watch Out: The Surveillance State Is Making a List, and You’re On It, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
4. Montana Supreme Court: Odor of Marijuana by Itself Insufficient to Prolong Traffic Stop, by Anthony Accurso
5. Fifth Circuit: ‘Nonsubstantial Overcrowding’ of Vehicle Used in Transporting Illegal Aliens Insufficient for Imposition of Sentencing Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2L1.1(b)(6), by Douglas Ankney
6. California Court of Appeal: Kill-Zone Theory Principles Articulated in Canizales Are Retroactive to Judgments That Were Final at Time of Decision, by Jacob Barrett
7. Florida Supreme Court Announces Completed ‘Purchase’ of Drugs Under Trafficking Statute Requires Exchange of Money and Possession, by David Reutter
8. Police Digitally Frame Activists in India, but It Can Happen Anywhere, by Jayson Hawkins
9. Eleventh Circuit: Prosecutor Denied Absolute Prosecutorial Immunity for Failure to Ensure Cancellation of Material Witness Warrant, by David Reutter
10. Fifth Circuit: District Court Erred in Finding That a Fourth Amendment Stop Did Not Occur, by Harold Hempstead
11. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Where Trial Counsel Believed, Erroneously, He Had Ethical Duty to Tell Prosecution Location of Key Incriminating Evidence Not in Counsel’s Possession, by Douglas Ankney
12. Los Angeles: Police Union Resists Changes to Pretextual Stops, by Jayson Hawkins
13. Police Find It Easier to Influence Public Opinion Than to Protect and Serve, by Benjamin Tschirhart
14. Tenth Circuit: Unreasonable Determination of Downward Variance of Guidelines Resulted in Plain Error, by David Reutter
15. Ninth Circuit Suppresses Evidence as Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Where Officer Lacked Probable Cause to Arrest Man Who Displayed Handgun in Open Carry State, by Douglas Ankney
16. California Court of Appeal Announces the People Are Not Entitled to Have Privately Retained Psychological Expert Testify at Trial of SVPA Petition, by Douglas Ankney
17. Connecticut Supreme Court Announces ‘John Doe’ Warrant Based on Suspect’s General Description and Partial DNA Profiles, Which May or May Not Include Suspect’s DNA, Fails to Satisfy ‘Particularity Requirement’ of Fourth Amendment, by Douglas Ankney
18. Tenth Circuit: Prisoner Convicted of Covered Drug Offense but Sentenced to Mandatory Life Sentence Via Cross Reference for Murder Under Pre-Booker Guidelines Has Standing to Request First Step Act Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
19. NYC: The First DNA Gun Crimes Unit in America, by Harold Hempstead
20. Sixth Circuit: Unarmed Bank Robber Who Ordered Tellers to Get on the Floor Not Subject to Enhancement for Physical Restraint, by Matthew Clarke
21. Traditional Forensic Ballistics Comparisons Giving Way to Virtual 3D Methods, by Casey Bastian
22. The National Registry of Exonerations 2021 Annual Report: 161 Exonerations Comprising 1,849 Years of Wrongful Imprisonment, by Casey Bastian
23. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ends Practice of Juvenile Courts Granting Continuances for Sole Purpose of Extending Delinquent’s Period of Detention, by Douglas Ankney
24. Mislabeling of Marijuana Products Is a National Problem, by Kevin Bliss
25. Review of Prior Research Identifies Three Main Sources of Bias in Jury Decision-Making Processes, by Casey Bastian
26. Police Foundations: The Impossible Task of Separating the World of Policing From the World of Corporate Money, by Casey Bastian
27. People Convicted of Sex Crimes Remain Incarcerated 25 Years After Completing Their Prison Sentences, by Douglas Ankney
28. Charlotte Is Ground Zero for New FBI Asset Forfeiture Tip Line Program, by Casey Bastian
29. News in Brief
30. Theft of Public Funds or Accounting Incompetence? Kansas Police Agencies Can’t Accurately Track Property Forfeitures, by Jacob Barrett

More from Harold Hempstead:

• Florida Returning Canteen Funds for Prisoner Programming, July 15, 2023
• Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, June 15, 2023
• Massachusetts Settles One of Three Suits Alleging Retaliation by Prison Guards for Assault on One of Their Own, June 1, 2023
• Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention, May 15, 2023
• Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, May 1, 2023
• Sixth Circuit Won’t Hold Michigan County Liable After Mentally Ill Prisoner Impregnates Another, April 19, 2023
• Georgia Supreme Court: Trial Courts Are Bound to Follow Precedent of Court of Appeals, April 15, 2023
• Former CoreCivic Guard Pleads Guilty to Deprivation of Tennessee Prisoner’s Rights, April 1, 2023
• Massachusetts Supreme Court: Probationer’s Due Process Right to Present a Defense Violated Where Denied Opportunity to Call Complainant Who Alleged Sexual Assault as a Witness During Probation Revocation Hearing, March 15, 2023
• Maryland Court of Appeals: ‘No Objection’ to Introduction of Evidence at Trial That Was the Subject of Denied Motion to Suppress Does Not Waive Right to Appellate Review of Denial, March 15, 2023

More from these topics:

• 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.
• Steady Improvement in Techniques for the Analysis of Degraded DNA, Feb. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, DNA Testing/Samples.
• Human DNA Retrieved From Dogs Might Provide Evidence, Jan. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, DNA Evidence.
• Use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy Searches to Identify Suspects Needs Regulation and Can Be Challenged, Dec. 15, 2023. Commentary/Reviews, DNA Testing/Samples, Warrants - General Search.
• New York Court Rules Police Allowed to Use Familial DNA Searches, Dec. 15, 2023. DNA Testing/Samples, DNA Evidence.
• DNA Matches Dead Australian to Nebraska Prisoner Who Escaped 56 Years Ago, Nov. 15, 2023. DNA Testing/Samples, Escapes.
• Colorado’s Amendments to Post-Conviction DNA Testing Statute Allows Greater Number of Affected Persons to Seek Testing, Nov. 1, 2023. DNA Testing/Samples, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Innocence Protection Act.
• Three’s a Crowd: Issues of DNA Mixture Analysis and Interpretation, Nov. 1, 2023. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, DNA Evidence/Testing.
• We’re All Suspects in a DNA Lineup, Waiting to be Matched with a Crime, Oct. 1, 2023. DNA Testing/Samples, Databases, Lineups.