More from this issue:

1. News in Brief
2. National Fingerprint Database Frees Man After 36 Years, by Jayson Hawkins
3. Seventh Circuit Holds Indiana Pointing a Firearm and Intimidation Convictions No Longer Qualify Under ACCA After Johnson, by Pat O'Connell
4. Asset Forfeiture Not So Helpful to Crime-Fighting, by Edward Lyon
5. New York Court of Appeals Overturns Murder Conviction, Finds Prosecutor Withheld Critical Video Evidence in Violation of Brady Obligations, by Dale Chappell
6. Tennessee Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Because Trial Court Refused to Give ‘Necessity’ Jury Instruction Because Defendant Never Testified About Mental State, by Douglas Ankney
7. Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Safety-Valve Relief, by Douglas Ankney
8. Georgia Supreme Court Announces Fundamental Overhaul of Jurisprudence Governing Appeals of Guilty Pleas and Out-of-Time Appeals, by Douglas Ankney
9. California Court of Appeal: Equal Protection Requires Pretrial Detainees on Home Confinement Be Eligible for Good Conduct Credits, by Douglas Ankney
10. U.S. Supreme Court ‘Death Caucus’ Setting Death Penalty Litigation Tone, by Kevin Bliss
11. Georgia Supreme Court: Warrantless Search of Vehicle’s Airbag Control Module is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
12. Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Sentencing Judge Should Have Recused Himself Due to Ex Parte Communications with U.S. Attorney’s Office, by Douglas Ankney
13. Santa Didn’t Create Naughty Cops List, But It’s Worth Checking Twice, by Douglas Ankney
14. Nevada Supreme Court: Trial Court Must Give Manslaughter Instruction Even When Evidence Is Circumstantial, by Douglas Ankney
15. Seventh Circuit Reaffirms Sex Trafficking and Kidnapping Are not Violent Felonies for 924(c) After Davis, by Dale Chappell
16. Supreme Court of Hawai’i Rules Presenting Falsified Polygraph Results Is Coercive Per Se, by Douglas Ankney
17. Sixth Circuit Holds Career Offender Status Does not Bar Retroactive FSA Relief Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
18. Using Algorithms to Erase Pot Convictions in California, by Douglas Ankney
19. Colorado Supreme Court Announces Clarifications and Modifications to Proportionality Review Standard as Applied to Habitual-Offender Sentences, by Douglas Ankney
20. Costly Electronic Monitoring Programs Replacing Ineffective Jail Bond Systems, by Kevin Bliss
21. NJ Supreme Court: Confession not Voluntary Where Police Tell Suspect Truth Would Set Him Free, Promise Him Counseling Instead of Jail, and Minimize Seriousness of Offenses, by Douglas Ankney
22. Eleventh Circuit: Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery not a Crime of Violence Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), by Douglas Ankney
23. Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief in Loss of GBMI Plea in Pennsylvania Court Due to IAC, Announces New Rule, by Dale Chappell
24. Washington Supreme Court: Failure to Pay Fines Don’t Increase Sentencing Score, by Anthony Accurso
25. Harmless Error: Explained, by Gabe Newland
26. On Remand from Supreme Court, Eleventh Circuit Holds in Specific Circumstances an Ake Violation Constitutes Structural Error, by Douglas Ankney
27. Refusing to Permit Attorney to Make Offer of Proof Is Abuse of Discretion, Says Indiana Supreme Court, by Douglas Ankney
28. Police Use of Rapid DNA Machines Unregulated, by Jayson Hawkins
29. Tenth Circuit Holds Davis Retroactive, Retaliation Against a Witness Not Crime of Violence Under § 924(c), by Dale Chappell
30. Perils of Risk Assessment Tools in Criminal Justice, by Jayson Hawkins
31. If It Saves More Than One Child, by Sandy Rozek
32. U.S. District Court Holds Hobbs Act Robbery not Crime of Violence for § 924(c), Grants § 2255 Motion, by Dale Chappell
33. From the Editors
34. Fourth Circuit: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Death Penalty Case for Failure to Investigate Fetal Alcohol Syndrome as Mitigating Factor During Sentencing Phase, by Chad Marks
35. Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces New Rule Requiring Both Judges and Juries to Consider Numerous Factors in Witness ID Cases, by Dale Chappell
36. Insurance Companies Are Paying Cops To Investigate Their Own Customers, by Kendall Taggart

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:

• California Supreme Court Limits Money Bail for Nonviolent Charges, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Due Process, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Pretrial Detention and Detainees.
• Oregon Supreme Court: Jail Credit Statute Focuses Upon Legal Custody Not Physical Custody Location, July 1, 2026. Civil Procedure, Sentencing, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Criminal Justice, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Parole, Prisoners' Rights.
• Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Sentencing, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
• Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Sentencing, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.
• Georgia Moves to Shield Intellectually Disabled Prisoners 
from Execution, June 1, 2025. Sentencing, Death Penalty.
• Fourth Circuit: District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Explanation for Sentence Imposed and Did Not Address Defendant’s Arguments for Downward Variant Sentence, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, Drug Laws/Offenses.
• Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity 
Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, Failure To Consider Disparity, Federal-State Differences/Disparity/Conflicts, Disparity in Charging/Sentencing Practices.