More from this issue:

1. Courts Have Made Social Media a Landmine for Defendants. Could It Change Soon?, by Steve Horn
2. $600,000 Awarded Missouri Man in Legal Malpractice Verdict After 17 Years in Prison
3. Denver Under Fire For Law That Critics Describe as Legalized ‘Car Stealing’, by Derek Gilna
4. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Search Warrant Required for Nonconsensual Entry into Any Residence to Carry Out Arrest Warrant, by Richard Resch
5. Mississippi Supreme Court Clarifies that Appellate Courts Never Serve as ‘13th Juror’ for Motion for New Trial, by David Reutter
6. New Mexico Supreme Court: Seriousness of Charged Crime Itself Not Sufficient to Deny Defendant Pretrial Release, by Dale Chappell
7. #Policetoo: 35 States Allow ‘Consensual’ Sex Between Police and Detainees, by Christopher Zoukis
8. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces ‘Finality’ Under Sentence Enhancement Provision for Out-of-State Convictions Governed by Texas Law, by Dale Chappell
9. Durham, North Carolina, Opts Out of Military-Style Training for Police, by Christopher Zoukis
10. Seventh Circuit Affirms Suppression of Evidence Because Traffic Stop Unreasonably Prolonged, by Christopher Zoukis
11. Montana Supreme Court Holds Failure to Instruct Jury on State’s Burden of Proof is Plain Error, by Dale Chappell
12. Utah Supreme Court: Procedural Due Process Violated Where Failure to Participate in Sex Offender Treatment Program Used to Deny Parole to Prisoner Not Convicted of Sex Offense, by David Reutter
13. Eleventh Circuit Holds Florida Drug Trafficking Statute Indivisible and Overbroad for Removal Under Immigration and Nationality Act, by Dale Chappell
14. Biased Facial Recognition Systems Are Coming to a Law Enforcement Agency Near You, by Christopher Zoukis
15. Washington Supreme Court: Nexus Between Property Searched and Probation Violation Required for Warrantless Search of Probationer’s Property, by Dale Chappell
16. Missouri High Court Holds Checkbox-Style Search Warrant Constitutes an Unconstitutional General Warrant, by Dale Chappell
17. $1 Million Paid by NYC to Settle False Arrest Claim
18. Government Eyes Are Watching You: We Are All Prisoners of the Surveillance State, by John W. Whitehead
19. Kansas Supreme Court: Judge’s ‘Thwarting’ of Defendant’s Right to Self-Representation was Structural Error Requiring Reversal of Convictions, by Dale Chappell
20. New Jersey Supreme Court: Substantive Error to Amend Indictment to Change Degree of Felony on Eve of Trial, by Matthew Clarke
21. Seattle to Toss Old Pot Convictions
22. Missouri Supreme Court Clarifies No Resisting Arrest Charge Once Arrest is Completed, by Dale Chappell
23. Fifth Circuit Grants § 2255 Petition Challenging Failure to Register Conviction for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, by Christopher Zoukis
24. FBI Data Reveal ‘War on Cops’ is Nonexistent, by Dale Chappell
25. South Carolina Supreme Court Clarifies When Court Can Deny Right to Self-Representation; Orders New Trial, by Dale Chappell
26. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Vacates Intellectually Disabled Prisoner’s Death Sentence, by Christopher Zoukis
27. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces New Rule to Allow IAC Claims for Fine-Only Sentences, by Dale Chappell
28. Ninth Circuit: Younger Abstention Not Appropriate in Habeas Case Challenging Lack of Constitutionally Sufficient Bail Hearing, by Christopher Zoukis
29. Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Criminally Negligent Homicide Because Conduct was ‘Too Remote’ from Cause of Death, by Dale Chappell
30. Is FBI Using Classified Tools for Everyday Investigations?, by Christopher Zoukis
31. Legally Thrown in Jail for Wanting to File a Complaint Against Police
32. District Court Grants Bail in a Drug Case Over Government’s Typical Assertion That ‘No Condition or Combination of Conditions Would Reasonably Assure the Defendant’s Presence at Trial’
33. Powerful District Attorney Lobbies Improperly Influence Law Making, by Matthew Clarke
34. NYPD Hands Out Business Cards So Suspects Can Rate Their Encounter with Cops
35. State Attorney in Vermont Won’t Prosecute Misdemeanor Opioid Treatment Drug Cases, by Betty Nelander
36. News in Brief
37. Ninth Circuit Rules Weekends in Jail Count as Time ‘In Prison’, by Dale Chappell
38. The Long, Dark History of Law Enforcement’s Warrantless Bus Searches, by Steve Horn
39. Louisiana Supreme Court: Jury May Not Speculate on Guilt When Evidence Is Lacking, by Dale Chappell
40. Risk Assessment Software: Biased and No Better Than Human Behavior Prediction, by Christopher Zoukis
41. Daily Caller Investigation Lays Opiate Crisis at Feet of DEA, by Derek Gilna
42. SCOTUS: Warrantless Invasion of Curtilage to Conduct Search Unconstitutional, by Richard Resch
43. Dial T for Tyranny: While America Feuds, the Police State Shifts Into High Gear, by John W. Whitehead
44. Non-Unanimous Jury Verdicts Give Prosecutors ‘Awesome Power’ and Have Racist Roots, by Dale Chappell

More from Dale Chappell:

• How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
• Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
• Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
• Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
• The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
• Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
• Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise a Fourth Amendment Claim, Feb. 15, 2023

More from these topics:

• Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Teague’s ‘Watershed’ Rule Exception to Nonretroactivity of New Constitutional Rule of Criminal Procedure on Collateral Review Has ‘Continued Vitality’ in Connecticut, Adoption of Third Exception to Teague’s Nonretroacti, April 15, 2025. Retroactivity, Criminal Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Eyewitness Identification.
• Colorado Supreme Court Announces When Deciding Defendant’s Pro Se Motion Requesting Counsel on Postconviction Review, Trial Court Must Either Deny Entire Motion or Permit All Claims If Any Have Arguable Merit, Dec. 15, 2024. Appointment of Counsel, After Request for Counsel, Pro Se Issues.
• $25 Million Contempt Fine Prompts Release of Pretrial Detainees from Philadelphia Lockups, Dec. 15, 2024. Appointment of Counsel, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Bail/Pretrial Release, Fines.
• Indigent Defense: Appointed Counsel Does Not Mean Free Counsel, Dec. 1, 2024. Appointment of Counsel, Indigent Defense, Indigent Defendants - Fees and Expenses.
• In Oregon Case, Ninth Circuit Limits Pretrial Detention Without Counsel to Seven Days, Nov. 15, 2024. Appointment of Counsel, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Speedy Trial Clock - Tolling of.
• Indiana Supreme Court Clarifies Framework for Determining When Courts May Apply Cash Bail to Public-Defender Costs and to Fines, Costs, and Fees, June 15, 2024. Appointment of Counsel, Costs, Restitution, Bail Bonds.
• Nevada Prisoner Wins Injunction Requiring DOC to Provide Exercise Despite Guard Shortage, Jan. 1, 2024. Staffing, Exercise, Appointment of Counsel, Injunctions (PLRA), Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Class Actions, Right to Exercise.
• Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies When Lesser-Included Offense Instruction Must Be Provided, Reverses Convictions Based on Trial Court’s Failure to Properly Instruct Jury, Dec. 15, 2023. Jury Instructions, Criminal Procedure, Fair Trial, Verdicts.
• After Mississippi Supreme Court Announcement, Courts Unprepared to Ensure Poor Defendants Have a Lawyer Throughout the Criminal Process, Dec. 15, 2023. Appointment of Counsel, Counsel - Right to.
• Eighth Circuit: Defendant Facing Revocation of Supervised Release Did Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Waive Right to Counsel Where Appointed Counsel Admittedly Knew Nothing About Case and Advised Choosing Between ‘Big House or the Nut House’, April 15, 2023. Appointment of Counsel, Mental Health, Knowingly and Intelligently, Counsel - Right to.