More from this issue:

1. News in Brief
2. St. Louis Ordered to Stop Holding Detainees Simply Because They Can’t Afford Bail, by Kevin Bliss
3. Debunked Shaken-Baby Syndrome Leads to Reduced Sentence, by Anthony Accurso
4. Video Bail Hearings Violate Rights in Many Ways, by Edward Lyon
5. Chicago Fingerprint Unit Flawed, Under Scrutiny, by Bill Barton
6. Seventh Circuit Rules Failure to Issue Summons or Warrant Means Supervised Release Not Tolled While Merely in Custody, by Anthony Accurso
7. Private Companies Use DNA Profiles to Snitch on Customers and Their Families, by Douglas Ankney
8. California Losing Millions in Civil Asset Forfeiture Funds as Law Aims to Curb Police Abuse
9. Second Circuit Holds NY Sodomy Not ‘Prior Sex Conviction’ for Purposes of Federal Statute Mandating Life Sentence for Repeat Sex Offenders, by Dale Chappell
10. Groundbreaking Empirical Study of Expungement Released, by Bill Barton
11. Sixth Circuit Announces § 2244(B)(1) Doesn’t Apply to Successive § 2255 Petitions and Rules That If the District Court Relied on Residual Clause of ACCA When Determining Prior Conviction Qualified as Predicate Felony, Then Sentence Cannot Stand, by Douglas Ankney
12. Florida Supreme Court Holds Sentencing Statute That Allows Judge to Determine Dangerousness Triggering Upward Depar-ture of Maximum Sentence Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
13. Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies That State Has Burden to Prove Competency to Stand Trial, by Dale Chappell
14. Will Police Recruitment Crisis Prompt Change in Behavior?, by Douglas Ankney
15. Houston Police Cover up Crime Scene With Poor Investigation Techniques, by Kevin Bliss
16. Colorado Supreme Court Announces Sniff by Drug Dog Trained to Detect Marijuana Now Constitutes a ‘Search’ Requiring Probable Cause, by Dale Chappell
17. Tennessee Supreme Court Holds Judge Lacks Authority to Sign Search Warrant for Property Outside Court’s Jurisdiction, by Dale Chappell
18. Another Study Shows There’s No ‘War on Police’, by Bill Barton
19. 7th Circuit Instructs District Court to Grant Federal Prisoner’s Habeas Based on § 2255(e) Savings Clause, by Douglas Ankney
20. Qualified Immunity: Explained, by Amir H. Ali, Emily Clark
21. Massive Outing of Nationwide Instances of Police Misconduct Revealed, by Edward Lyon
22. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Explains Procedures of G. L. c. 278A and Rules That a Claim of Self-Defense Is a Claim of Factual Innocence, by Douglas Ankney
23. Vermont Supreme Court Rules DUI Breath Test Subject to Voluntariness Challenge Despite Implied Consent Law, by Mark Wilson
24. California Court of Appeal Announces Defendant Convicted of Felony Accessory Is Eligible for Resentencing Under Proposition 64, by Douglas Ankney
25. California Supreme Court Reverses Attempted Murder and Explains Elements Required For Kill Zone Theory Instruction, by Anthony Accurso
26. Oregon Supreme Court Holds ‘Attempt’ Requires Intent to Personally Participate in the Crime, by Dale Chappell
27. $13.1 Million Settlement Reached by Actor Framed for Murder, by Douglas Ankney
28. BOP Finally Implements First Step Act, Officially Releases 3,100 Prisoners Under ‘Good Conduct Time’, by Dale Chappell
29. Colorado Supreme Court Announces That the People Cannot Withdraw From a Plea Agreement After the Trial Court Rejects Stipulated Sentence, by Douglas Ankney
30. NYU Study Shows ‘Predictive Policing Systems’ Promote Bad Data, Bad Policing, by Dale Chappell
31. SCOTUS: SOL Governing § 1983 Claim Asserting Fabrication of Evidence Begins to Run on Date Criminal Proceedings Are Terminated in Complainant’s Favor, by Douglas Ankney
32. Indiana Supreme Court Reduces 30-Year Prison Sentence to 23-Year Community Corrections Placement in Rare Case, by Chad Marks
33. New Jersey Supreme Court: Prosecution May Appeal Drug Court Sentence Only When Sentence Is Illegal, by Douglas Ankney
34. Sixth Circuit: Prosecutor’s Numerous Improper Comments Constitute Flagrant Misconduct Depriving Defendants of a Fair Trial, by Anthony Accurso
35. Fourth Circuit Reverses Lower Court for Giving Dispositive Weight to Plea Agreement Language Rather Than Fact-Based Evaluation of Weight of Evidence in IAC Claim, by David M. Reutter
36. Taking Notes Influences Jurors’ Verdicts, by Douglas Ankney
37. Colorado Supreme Court Announces That Claims of Insufficient Evidence Not Preserved at Trial Are Subject to De Novo Review on Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
38. Refusing to Permit Attorney to Make Offer of Proof Is Abuse of Discretion, Says Indiana Supreme Court, by Douglas Ankney
39. Change to New York Misdemeanor Definition May Benefit Non-Citizens, by Michael Berk
40. Montana Supreme Court Rules Leaving a Brewery Doesn’t Provide Particularized Suspicion of DUI, by Anthony Accurso
41. Massachusetts Supreme Court Holds Statute Requiring GPS Monitoring of Probationers Convicted of Sex Offenses Unconstitutional ‘as Applied’, by Douglas Ankney
42. Oregon Supreme Court: Claim Based on New Rule of Constitutional Law Cognizable in Untimely Oregon PCR Action, by Mark Wilson
43. Virtual Imprisonment as Big Brother Interactively Listens From Cradle to School to Prison to Parole to Grave, by Edward Lyon
44. Column: Obtaining Relief Under 'Davis' in the Wake of 'Johnson', by Dale Chappell
45. Seventh Circuit: Woman Answering Door of Suspect’s Residence Wearing Bathrobe Does Not Constitute Apparent Authority to Consent to Search, by Chad Marks
46. The Role of Police Misconduct in Wrongful Convictions, by Matthew Clarke

More from Douglas Ankney:

• The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026
• California Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-Circumstances Framework Focused on Defendant’s Subjective Understanding Under § 1473.7(a)(1), Holding Immigration Consequences Advisement Is Relevant but Not Dispositive, Oct. 1, 2026
• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Conflicting Affidavits About Plea Acceptance Require Evidentiary Hearing on Ineffective-Assistance Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Vacates Award of Costs to Prison Officials, Revives Prisoner’s Claim Alleging Denial of Access to Functioning Toilets and Exposure to Other Prisoners’ Feces, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions, Holding Requirement That Defendant Testify Before Displaying Hand Tattoos Violates Fifth Amendment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026
• Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Federal Habeas Quick Reference Guide for State Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Cause and Prejudice.
• Sixth Circuit Holds Kentucky Deficient-Counsel Belated-Appeal Procedure Tolls Federal Habeas One-Year Limitations Period, Sept. 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Failure to Preserve Challenge, Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches.
• Formally Available, Rarely Granted: A State Prisoner’s Guide to Federal Habeas Relief, Sept. 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion, Habeas Corpus, Bureau of Prisons Orders, Administrative Law/Remedies, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches, Federal Rules of Evidence, Statute of Limitations.
• Eleventh Circuit Holds § 2255 Motion Not “Second or Successive” After Intervening Amended Judgment Corrected Unlawful Sentences, Even as to Claims Concerning an Undisturbed Count, Aug. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Effect of Vacatur.
• Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, June 1, 2026. Release and Reentry, Habeas Corpus, First Step Act, Community Confinement/Home Detention, Credits.
• Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant.
• SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, March 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Predicate Acts/Offenses.
• SCOTUS Announces Federal Prisoners May Seek Certiorari Review of Authorization Denials Under § 2255(h) and Are Not Subject to § 2244(b)(1)’s Bar on Previously Presented Claims, Feb. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• California Court of Appeal: Trial Courts Have Inherent Authority to Correct Unauthorized Sentences at Any Time Without Habeas Petition, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Authorized, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Effect of Vacatur.
• First Circuit Announces Modification of Juvenile’s Life-­Without-­Parole Sentence to Parole-­Eligible Life Term Constitutes “New Judgment” Under AEDPA, Exempting Second-­in-­Time Habeas Petition From Gatekeeping Requirements, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole, Habeas Corpus, Life without Parole (LWOP), AEDPA, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.