More from this issue:

1. How Coercive Interrogations Can Lead to a False Confession, by Brian Leslie
2. $9 Million Settlement in Baltimore Wrongful Conviction Case, by Christopher Zoukis
3. Fifth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief Granted to Louisiana Prisoner Who Overcame SOL by ‘Credible Showing of Actual Innocence’, by Christopher Zoukis
4. Minneapolis Police Used EMS Staff to Drug Certain Suspects, Report Says, by Betty Nelander
5. U.S. Supreme Court: Drivers of Rental Cars Not on Rental Agreement Have Expectation of Privacy, by Dale Chappell
6. Seventh Circuit: ‘Force’ for Aggravated Sexual Abuse Requires ‘Physical Force,’ Not Psychological Coercion, by Christopher Zoukis
7. U.S. Supreme Court’s Carpenter Decision a Warning to Police on Warrantless Data Searches, by Derek Gilna
8. Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Process by Which Insanity Acquittees May Petition for Release, by Christopher Zoukis
9. SCOTUS’ Unanimous Death-Penalty Jury Verdict Decision Affecting Florida Cases, by Derek Gilna
10. New Kansas Law Compensates Those Wrongfully Convicted, by Dale Chappell
11. Georgia Defense Attorney Wins Another ‘Jury-Nullification’ Case, by Derek Gilna
12. New Jersey Appellate Division Extends Urbina Self-Defense Rule to Defense of Others in Plea Allocution, by David Reutter
13. Virginia Supreme Court Holds Convictions for Common Law and Statutory Involuntary Manslaughter Violate Double Jeopardy Clause, by Dale Chappell
14. Cato Institute: Require Cops to Carry Liability Insurance, by Christopher Zoukis
15. SCOTUS Issues Landmark Fourth Amendment and Digital Privacy Opinion in Carpenter
16. Eighth Circuit Rules Officer’s Inability to Read Temporary Vehicle Tag Does Not Justify Traffic Stop, Evidence Obtained Must be Suppressed, by Christopher Zoukis
17. First Circuit Holds Appeal Not Barred by Plea Agreement Waiver Provision When Sentence Exceeds Agreement, by David Reutter
18. New York City Decriminalizes Some Public Smoking of Marijuana in Policy Shift, by Derek Gilna
19. Can Cops Shoot a Fleeing Suspect in the Back?, by Dale Chappell
20. Texas Courts Rubber Stamp Post-Conviction Fact Findings in Death Penalty Cases, Study Says, by Matthew Clarke
21. New Jersey AG Intervenes in Possible Wrongful Conviction Case, Considers Reforms, by Christopher Zoukis
22. Hawaii Supreme Court Vacates Conviction Due to Prosecutor’s Bogus Argument Attacking Defense Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
23. Drug Detection Using Fingerprints in the Works, by Matthew Clarke
24. Sixth Circuit Reverses Relevant Conduct Firearm Enhancement Because No Connection Between Possession Charges Based on Two Separate Shootouts, by Christopher Zoukis
25. Kansas Supreme Court: Deadly Weapon-Use Finding Prerequisite to Imposing Violent Offender Registration Requirement, by Matthew Clarke
26. Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner Convicted of First-Degree Murder Without Evidence of Specific Intent to Kill, by Christopher Zoukis
27. Why Sex Offender Registries Keep Growing Even as Sexual Violence Rates Fall, by Steven Yoder
28. NYPD’s Lack of Disciplinary Record Transparency Frustrates Prosecutors, by Betty Nelander
29. Maryland’s Top Court Rules Actual Notice by Trial Judge Unnecessary to Trigger Hearing Requirement On Defendant’s Request to Replace Defense Counsel, by Christopher Zoukis
30. Immigration Authorities Seize Wrongfully Convicted Man After Release, by Matthew Clarke
31. Chicago Tries to Reduce Deficit at its Poorer Citizens’ Expense, by Edward Lyon
32. Kansas (Finally) Outlaws Sex Between Cops and Detained Citizens
33. California Property Owners Billed for Their Own Prosecution, by Christopher Zoukis
34. What Some Prison Sentence Lengths Actually Reflect, by Edward Lyon
35. Trial Lawyer Advocates ‘Jury Nullification’ To Acquit the Unjustly Accused, by Derek Gilna
36. Academic Paper Highlights Need to Tighten Rules for Fingerprint Evidence in Light of False-Positive Error Rate, by Steve Horn
37. New York City Gang Database Increases 70 Percent Since 2014, by Derek Gilna
38. South Dakota Supreme Court Rules that Trial Court Cannot Reject a Plea Agreement It Already Implicitly Accepted, by Christopher Zoukis
39. New Mexico Supreme Court: Seriousness of Charged Crime Itself Not Sufficient to Deny Defendant Pretrial Release, by Dale Chappell
40. Iowa Supreme Court: Relief from Conviction Not Required When Suing for Legal Malpractice Based on Wrongful Sentence, by Dale Chappell
41. South Dakota Supreme Court Announces Search Incident to Arrest Exception to Warrant Requirement Does Not Apply to Collection of Urine Sample Upon Arrest, by Dale Chappell
42. Armed and Dangerous: If Police Don’t Have to Protect the Public, What Good Are They?, by John W. Whitehead
43. There’s No Rational Way to Justify America’s Drug Laws, by Maia Szalavitz
44. News in Brief
45. Secondary DNA Transfer: The Rarely Discussed Phenomenon That Can Place the Innocent (and the Dead) at a Crime Scene They’ve Never Been To, by Christopher Zoukis

More from Christopher Zoukis:

• The Contraband Wars Prison authorities target books and mail, miss the goods coming through the staff door, July 1, 2021
• Trump v. Biden on Criminal Justice, Oct. 1, 2020
• Coronavirus in Prison: The Cruel Reality, Aug. 1, 2020
• With Lives of Immigrant Detainees at Risk to COVID-19, Federal Judge Forces ICE’s Hand, July 1, 2020
• A Nation on the Brink, June 15, 2020
• Federal Court Slams Michigan Jail for Bungling COVID-19 Pandemic, Demands Names of Vulnerable Prisoners for Release, June 1, 2020
• Silence: The Bureau of Prisons’ Pathetic Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, June 1, 2020
• New York Judge Orders Release of 18 Rikers Island Detainees Due to COVID-19 Risk, June 1, 2020
• Coronavirus: A Nationwide Survey of the Push for Early Release as Pandemic Fears Grow, May 1, 2020
• California Three-Judge Court Denies Emergency Motion to Reduce Prison Population During Pandemic, May 1, 2020

More from these topics:

• Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025. Jury Instructions, Resentencing, Threats, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
• Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty, Feb. 15, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Exculpatory No Doctrine, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Habeas Relief in ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case, Feb. 1, 2025. junk science, Habeas Corpus, Forensic Sciences, Child Abuse/Abusers, Evidence - Admissibility.
• California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025. Settlements, Habeas Corpus, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail.
• Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Relief Where Both Trial and Appellate Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Challenge Indictment for Residential Burglary That Failed to Allege Defendant Illegally Entered a ‘Dwelling’, Jan. 15, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Constitutional Challenges/Law.
• Ninth Circuit Holds District Courts Have No Authority Under Rule 4 of Rules Governing § 2254 Cases to Dismiss Habeas Petition on the Merits, Dec. 15, 2024. Habeas Corpus, Dismissal, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• Ninth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to California Prisoner on Napue Claim Because Prosecution Failed to Correct Informant’s False Testimony That He Did Not Receive Any Benefit In Exchange for His Testimony, Dec. 1, 2024. Informants, Habeas Corpus, Informants and Paid Witnesses, False Testimony.
• Public Defender Files Habeas Petitions for Detainees at “Horrific” Baltimore Lockup, Nov. 15, 2024. Failure to Treat, Conditions of Confinement, Hygiene Supplies, Disclosure of Records, Habeas Corpus.
• Ninth Circuit Denies Habeas Relief to Prisoner Who Invoked Fifth Amendment Right to Counsel During Custodial Interrogation but Made Incriminating Statements to Undercover Informant Posing as Fellow Prisoner Because Right to Counsel Not Violated, Nov. 1, 2024. Habeas Corpus, Custodial Interrogations/Statements, Counsel - Right to.
• Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Where Defense Counsel Failed to Understand State Self-Defense Statute Provides Complete Defense to Felony Murder Based on Felon-in-Possession Charge, Oct. 1, 2024. Habeas Corpus, Felon in Possession Statute, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Murder/Felony Murder.