More from this issue:

1. Jurors Showing More and More Savvy Toward Trial Evidence, by Edward Lyon
2. News in Brief
3. Minnesota Sees Rising Tide of Payouts for Epidemic of Police Misconduct, by Derek Gilna
4. Government Snitches: Incentivized Witnesses Are the Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions, by Dale Chappell
5. NYPD Gang Database Lacks Transparency, Limits Due Process, by Kevin Bliss
6. $175,000 Settlement to Public Protester with Profanity-laced Sign Tased by Police Officer
7. Study: Racial Bias Inherent in the Jury Selection Process, by Kevin Bliss
8. Agencies: Bite-mark Forensics Outdated Science, by Kevin Bliss
9. Algorithm-dictated Freedom? Vet California’s New Pretrial Risk Assessment Tool, by Virginia Griese
10. San Francisco DA Candidate Chesa Boudin Puts Criminal Justice Reform Front and Center
11. New California Laws Peel Back Secrecy Surrounding Police Discipline Amid Pushback, by Betty Nelander
12. Facebook Tells Law Enforcement to Quit Using Phony Accounts, by Dale Chappell
13. ‘Ban the Box’ Movement Expands in New Direction, by Edward Lyon
14. Forensic Entomology Helps Nevada Murder Convictee Get Exonerated After 17 Years in Prison, by Edward Lyon
15. Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal: Thousands More Cases Likely Affected, by Kevin Bliss
16. NY Election Websites Tell Parolees They Can’t Vote, Even Though They Can, by Dale Chappell
17. Police Use of ‘Undercover Friending’ Investigative Technique Unregulated, by Kevin Bliss
18. Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies Applicable Standard for Mandatory Testing Under DNA Testing Act, Reverses District Court for Applying Wrong Standard, by Chad Marks
19. Hawaii Supreme Court Finally Complies with SCOTUS’ Apprendi Decision, Vacates Enhanced Sentence Based on Fact Determined by Judge, Not Jury, by Christopher Zoukis
20. Sexual Assaults and Harassment by Members of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Costing Taxpayers Millions, by Edward Lyon
21. Sixth Circuit Vacates a Witness Tampering Conviction, Principally on the Ground that the District Court Erroneously Instructed the Jury on the Intent Element of Witness Tampering, by Punch & Jurists
22. Bronx Prosecutors Trained to Manipulate System to Delay Trials, by Matthew Clarke
23. Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rosenstein Defends Junk Science Forensics, by Matthew Clarke
24. SCOTUS Clarifies Scope of Generic Burglary Under the ACCA, by Richard Resch
25. Report: Wisconsin Crime Labs Face Multitude of Problems, by Edward Lyon
26. Custodial Interrogation Must Cease When Suspect Unambiguously Invokes Right to Remain Silent, Says Fourth Circuit, by Douglas Ankney
27. Fifth Circuit: Introduction of Deposition Video Without Making Good-Faith Effort to Secure Witnesses’ Presence at Trial Violates Confrontation Clause, by Douglas Ankney
28. Oklahoma Supreme Court Announces Drug Court Dismissal of Charges After Successful Completion of Drug Program Entitles Defendant to Immediate Expungement, by Douglas Ankney
29. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Proper Evidentiary Standard and Type of Evidence for Informal Competency Hearing, by Christopher Zoukis
30. Third Circuit Orders Habeas Relief Based on Trial Counsel’s Failure to Present or Even Investigate Mental Health and Juvenile Records in Pennsylvania Death Penalty Case, by Matthew Clarke
31. Third Circuit: Summons Is Not an Arrest for USSG Criminal History Calculation, by Mark Wilson
32. Sixth Circuit Reverses 60-Month Upward Variance Sentence Based on News Article Provided to Parties by Court at Beginning of Sentencing Hearing, by Matthew Clarke
33. Ninth Circuit Announces Expert Testimony on Battered Woman Syndrome Not Categorically Excludable, Relevant to Duress Defense, by Richard Resch
34. Fifth Circuit Holds Special Conditions in PSR Appendix but Not Orally Pronounced by District Court Must Be Removed From Sentence Where Conflict With Written Judgment, by David Reutter
35. SCOTUS: Florida’s Robbery Statute Satisfies Physical Force Requirement of Armed Career Criminal Act, by Douglas Ankney
36. Idaho Supreme Court: Temporary and Isolated Crossing of the ‘Fog Line’ Not Enough to Support a Traffic Stop, by Christopher Zoukis
37. Louisiana Supreme Court Vacates Conviction for Batson Violation, by Christopher Zoukis
38. First Circuit Announces No Joint Participation Exception to Spousal Testimonial Privilege, by Matthew Clarke
39. Minnesota Supreme Court Holds Sentencing Guidelines 
at Time of Offense, Not Time of Sentencing, Controls for Purposes of Calculating Criminal History Score, by Matthew Clarke
40. Eighth Circuit Rules Search Warrant Based on Affidavit That Failed to Link Target to Criminal Activity Lacked Probable Cause, Not Saved by Good-Faith Exception, by David Reutter
41. Seventh Circuit Reverses Denial of a Certificate of Innocence Needed as a Prerequisite for Damages for an Unjust Conviction and Imprisonment, by Punch & Jurists
42. California Court of Appeal: Using Criminal Process to Collect Fines That Indigent Defendants Cannot Pay Is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
43. Ninth Circuit Announces SCOTUS’ Rodriguez Opinion Requires Overturning ‘Reasonableness Standard’ Precedent in Traffic Stop Prolongation Cases, by Richard Resch
44. U.S. Government Lab Withheld Groundbreaking Study for 5 Years That Can Help Defendants Question the Reliability of Certain DNA Evidence, by Steve Horn
45. Cops Are At War Out There, by Brian Platt, Jacobin
46. New York Mass Bail Out Action Targets Bail System Manipulation, by Virginia Griese
47. From the Editor, by Richard Resch

More from Richard Resch:

• Barred Before the Merits: A Federal Prisoner’s Guide to Federal Habeas Relief, Oct. 15, 2026
• Formally Available, Rarely Granted: A State Prisoner’s Guide to Federal Habeas Relief, Sept. 1, 2026
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Postconviction Forensic Testing Statute Permits Digital Forensic Analysis of Cellphones, Holding Chapter 278A Not Limited to Tangible Evidence Testable for Biological Material, Aug. 1, 2026
• Relevant Conduct: How Federal Sentencing Law Punishes More Than the Crime of Conviction, Aug. 1, 2026
• New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Article II, Section 10 Exclusionary Rule Governs Admissibility of Evidence Seized Outside State by Non-New Mexico Officers, Aug. 1, 2026
• Surveillance for Sale: The Data Broker Loophole and the Fourth Amendment After Chatrie, July 1, 2026
• Retroactive Guideline Amendments: The Narrow Path to a Federal Sentence Reduction, July 1, 2026
• SCOTUS Announces Accessing Google Location History Data Constitutes a Fourth Amendment Search, Holding That Neither Brief Duration Nor Third-Party Storage Negates Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Cellphone Location Information, July 1, 2026
• Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026
• U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Eighth Circuit Rules Plaintiff Must Cover Expert Costs, July 1, 2026. Costs, Expert Witnesses, Bill of Costs.
• Crime Scene Context: Bridging the Gap Between Evidence and Reconstruction, April 15, 2024. Expert Witnesses, Expert Witnesses/Testimony.
• Seventh Circuit Says Lack of Expert Testimony Dooms Illinois Prisoner’s Medical Neglect Claim, March 1, 2024. Wexford Health Services, Failure to Treat, Expert Witnesses, Deliberate Indifference.
• One Solution to Jurors Giving Too Much Weight to Improper Forensic Testimony: 4-Minute Training Video Based on DOJ Guidelines, Jan. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, Expert Witnesses, Opinions and Expert Testimony, Opinion on Ultimate Issue.
• In Suit Over Moldy Cells Causing Fungal Infection, Illinois Warden Denied Summary Judgment Wins Anyway, Dec. 1, 2023. Respiratory, Ventilation, Sanitation, Summary Judgment, Expert Witnesses.
• Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun, Oct. 1, 2023. Expert Witnesses, junk science, Gun Laws/Crimes.
• Seventh Circuit: State Court Decision Not Entitled to AEDPA Deference Due to Incorrect Legal Standard, Pro Se Habeas Petition Granted Based on Trial Counsel’s Failure to Present Expert Witness on Determinative Issue of Guilt Resulting in IAC, Feb. 15, 2023. Expert Witnesses, AEDPA, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Per se ineffectiveness.
• California Court of Appeal Announces the People Are Not Entitled to Have Privately Retained Psychological Expert Testify at Trial of SVPA Petition, Jan. 15, 2023. Expert Witnesses, Mental Health, Sexually Dangerous Persons/Sexual Violent Predators.
• Absent Expert Medical Testimony, Deliberate Indifference Tough to Prove in Medical Cases, Oct. 1, 2021. Medical Misconduct, Expert Witnesses, Deliberate Indifference.
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Officer Testified as Expert on Child Sexual Abuse Without First Being Qualified and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5920 Overruled Dunkle, March 15, 2021. Expert Witnesses, Expert and Opinion Testimony.