More from this issue:

1. News in Brief
2. Florida Deputy Falsifies Drug Field-Test Results, Freeing 11 From Jail, by Edward Lyon
3. Police Not Required to Protect; Are They Required to Serve?, by Matthew Clarke
4. Delaware Supreme Court: ‘The Sixth Amendment Demands More Than the Presence the Morning of Trial of a Warm Body With a Law Degree’, by Douglas Ankney
5. Deadly Force Mindset as Justifiable Defense Questioned, by Kevin Bliss
6. L.A. County Wipes Out Almost $90 Million in Debt for Juvenile Detention Fees, by Dale Chappell
7. Federal Judge Rules Massachusetts Law Banning Secretly Recording Police in Public Is Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
8. Fourth Circuit Holds 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
9. In Washington State, a Man’s Home Is No Longer His Castle, by Edward Lyon
10. New Jersey Board Finds Suspending Drivers’ Licenses Because of Failure to Pay Court Fines Doesn’t Work, by Dale Chappell
11. Fourth Circuit: District Court Must Provide Rationale When Denying Motion for § 3582(c)(2) Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
12. D.C. Circuit Holds Attempted Drug Offenses Do Not Count Toward Career Criminal Designation, by Matthew Clarke
13. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules as a Matter of 1st Impression That Mother’s Use of Opioids During Pregnancy Not Child Abuse, by Chad Marks
14. Fourth Circuit: Unreasonable Post-Seizure Delay in Obtaining Warrant Requires Suppression of Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
15. California Supreme Court Rules That Defense Counsel Can’t 
Agree to Stipulation That’s Tantamount to Guilty Plea Without Voluntary and Intelligent Waiver by Defendant, by Derek Gilna
16. Creation of Prosecutorial Watchdog in New York Spotlights Distinction Between Misconduct and Unfair Conduct, by Michael Berk
17. Georgia Supreme Court Announces Statute Mandating Lifetime GPS Monitoring of ‘Sexually Dangerous Predator’ Even After Completion of Sentence Is Facially Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
18. Fifth Circuit Rules Miscalculation of Guidelines Sentencing 
Range Plain Error That Merits Correction Even Though Not Raised by Defendant, by Chad Marks
19. Prosecutors Have the Power to Stop Bad Roadside Drug Tests From Ruining People’s Lives, by Sagiv Galai
20. Former New Jersey Police Chief Faces Rare Federal Hate Crime Charges
21. Cops Seize Almost $150,000 from Black Musician for Not Using His Turn Signal, by Dale Chappell
22. Ninth Circuit Vacates a Sentence Imposed for Violation of Supervised Release Because the District Court Failed to Disclose to the Defendant the Probation Officer’s Confidential Sentencing Recommendations
23. Fourth Circuit: South Carolina Conviction for Assaulting, Wounding, or Beating Officer While Resisting Arrest Is Not Predicate Violent Felony Conviction Under ACCA, by Douglas Ankney
24. Legal Aid Society Counters NYC Police Misconduct With New Database
25. Florida Cop Found Guilty of Killing Stranded Driver, a First in 30 Years in State
26. Second Circuit: Government’s Misleading Disclosure Warrants New Trial, by Douglas Ankney
27. Facial Recognition Gives Police Easier Access to Cellphones, by Dale Chappell
28. Why Brady Lists Still Don’t Work, by Douglas Ankney
29. Abolishing the Death Penalty Leads to Decline in Murders, by Douglas Ankney
30. Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas and Remands for Hearing on Actual Innocence Claim, by Douglas Ankney
31. Federal Judge Denies Qualified Immunity for Cops Who Detained Motorist for Giving Them the Finger, by Dale Chappell
32. Seventh Circuit: Failure to Disclose that Star Witness Was Hypnotized is 'Brady' Violation, by Douglas Ankney
33. Georgia Supreme Court: Statutes Permitting a Defendant’s Refusal to Submit to Breath Tests to Be Admitted into Evidence Are Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
34. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Retroactively Applies Birchfield, Holding that Enhanced Criminal Penalties for Refusing Warrantless Blood Tests are Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
35. First Circuit: Failure to Prove a Prior Conviction Was a ‘Controlled Substance Offense’ Under the Guidelines Requires Resentencing, by Douglas Ankney
36. Fourth Circuit Announces Reasonably Foreseeable Acts of Co-Conspirators Not Sufficient for Fleeing Sentence Enhancement Under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2, by David Reutter
37. California Supreme Court: Competence Hearing Required When Formerly Incompetent Defendant Quits Taking Psychotropic Medication and Exhibits Signs of Incompetence, by David Reutter
38. SCOTUS: Presumption of Prejudice Recognized in Flores-Ortega Applies Regardless of Defendant’s Appeal Waiver, by Douglas Ankney
39. California Governor Announces Moratorium on Capital Punishment, by Bill Barton
40. Arrests Do Not Necessarily Represent Solved Crimes, by Edward Lyon
41. Expert Report Urges Changes to Forensic Analysis in Courtrooms, by Dale Chappell
42. Misconduct in the Forensic Science Community Reveals Urgent Need for Greater Oversight, by Kevin Bliss
43. Q&A: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: Which Errors Are Worth Pursuing?, by Dale Chappell, Brandon Sample
44. Texas Misuses Privacy Law to Withhold In-Custody Death Information, by Edward Lyon
45. Plea Bargaining: Prosecutors Leave Trail of Injustice When Playing Hardball with Defendants, by David Reutter

More from Bill Barton:

• Time to Curb Police Unions, Nov. 15, 2020
• Philadelphia Jails to Release Prisoners Earlier in the Day, Oct. 1, 2020
• Missouri Downsizing Prisons to Save Cash, Oct. 1, 2020
• BOP Official Reportedly Had Sexual Relationship With Former Police Union Head, Sept. 1, 2020
• Alabama Says It Will Reform Prisons, the Nation’s Deadliest, Aug. 1, 2020
• Devastating Consequences of Chicago Gang Database – And No Way to Be Removed, July 15, 2020
• Rappers Jay-Z and Yo Gatti Help Prisoners in Mississippi Sue State Over “Inhumane and Unconstitutional Conditions”, July 1, 2020
• Rhode Island Corrections’ Union President Fined for Excessive Political Donations, June 1, 2020
• Report: Oaks of Justice Pitch to Help Prisoners Return Home Appears Shady, June 1, 2020
• A Mass Purge of Misconduct Records by Phoenix, Arizona Police, May 15, 2020

More from these topics:

• Alabama Governor Commutes Death Sentence, May 1, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Resentencing.
• Federal Withdrawal of Single-Drug Execution Protocol Follows Challenges in Indiana, Arizona, March 1, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
• Arizona To Resume Executions, Feb. 15, 2025. Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
• Tennessee Finalizes New One-Drug Execution Protocol, Feb. 15, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Drugs - Determination of, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
• Indiana Resumes Executions, Feb. 15, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
• With Eleventh Circuit Okay, Alabama Executes Third Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, Jan. 15, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
• Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row, Jan. 15, 2025. Alternative Sentencing, Death Penalty/Death Row, Resentencing.
• Alabama Shrouds Executioners in Secrecy, Dec. 15, 2024. Death Penalty/Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
• San Quentin Brings in Hollywood, Moves Out California Death Row Prisoners, Dec. 15, 2024. Death Penalty/Death Row, Media.
• SCOTUS Stays Texas Execution With 20 Minutes to Spare, Nov. 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, Death Penalty/Death Row, Stays, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.