More from this issue:

1. News in Brief
2. $750,000 Settlement for St. Louis County Cops Shooting Dog, by Jayson Hawkins
3. The Two-Edged Sword of DNA Exonerates Another Prisoner, by Edward Lyon
4. National Fingerprint Database Frees Man After 36 Years, by Jayson Hawkins
5. Free Speech Is Sometimes Expensive, by Edward Lyon
6. New York City Cops Can Always Tell by Just the Smell, by Edward Lyon
7. Man Freed Who Sat in Prison Nearly 30 Years While Prosecutors Withheld Evidence of Innocence, by Dale Chappell
8. Payouts for Police Misconduct Claims Rise While Number of Claims Appear to Fall, by Douglas Ankney
9. Michigan Supreme Court Reverses Criminal Sexual Conduct Convictions in Two Consolidated Cases Due to Improperly Admitted Expert Testimony, by Douglas Ankney
10. High Bail Amounts Lead to Sharp Increase in Franklin, PA, Jail Population, by Dale Chappell
11. New Law Makes It Harder for California’s Cops to Get Away with Killing People, by Douglas Ankney
12. Not Guilty but Punished Anyway, by Douglas Ankney
13. Maryland Court of Appeals Announces Circuit Court Retains Authority to Exercise Its Revisory Power for Up to Five Years After Granting Belated Postconviction Motion, by Douglas Ankney
14. Indiana Supreme Court: Postconviction Petition Addressing Only Issues From New Trial, New Sentencing, or New Appeal From Federal Court via Habeas Proceedings Is Not a Second Petition Under State Law, by Douglas Ankney
15. Ninth Circuit: Federal Sentencing Court Must Hear Defendant Before Determining If Acceptance of Responsibility Reduction Applies, by David Reutter
16. Sixth Circuit Grants § 2254 Habeas Relief in Unusual Case of Attorney Failing to Initiate Plea Negotiations, by Douglas Ankney
17. Law Professor Peeks at Prosecutor’s Veiled DNA Database, by Douglas Ankney
18. Fifth Circuit: Practices of Orleans Parish Judges in Collecting Fines and Fees Violates Due Process, by Douglas Ankney
19. Seventh Circuit Vacates Conviction and Remands for a Franks Hearing, by Douglas Ankney
20. California Supreme Court Holds Discovery Statute Requiring ‘Good Cause’ Not Applicable When Evidence Held by Court, by Dale Chappell
21. Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Heightened Pleading Standard for Birchfield/Johnson Claims Raised in Collateral Postconviction Proceedings, by Douglas Ankney
22. Missouri Supreme Court Clarifies Defendant Is Entitled to Self-Defense Instruction When Substantial Evidence Supports Instruction Regardless of Whether Defendant Presented Evidence Contrary to Self-Defense, by Douglas Ankney
23. Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions Where Trial Court Failed to Provide Oral Jury Instructions, by Chad Marks
24. Tenth Circuit: ‘Relevant Background Law’ Trumps Unclear Record in Granting § 2255 Relief From Johnson Error, by Michael Berk
25. Another notable (but ultimately disappointing) ruling about sentence reductions under § 3582(c)(1)(A) after FIRST STEP Act, by Professor Douglas A. Berman
26. Maryland Court of Appeals Abrogates Rule Requiring Corroboration of Accomplices’ Testimony and Announces New Rule, by Douglas Ankney
27. In Landmark Opinion, Colorado Supreme Court Announces Courts May Not Sentence Defendant to Both Prison and Probation in Multi-Count Cases, by Richard Resch
28. 9th Circuit: Sentence Under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(k) Violated Ex Post Facto Clause When Underlying Offense Was Committed in 2005, by Douglas Ankney
29. California Supreme Court: Where Electronics Search Condition of Probation Is Not Reasonably Related to Future Criminality, Condition Is Invalid, by Douglas Ankney
30. Risk Assessments in Cook County Ineffective, by Jayson Hawkins
31. $2.4 Million Paid by Sacramento in Wrongful Death Suit of Stephon Clark, by Kevin Bliss
32. Second Circuit: Federal Habeas Relief Warranted Where State Trial Court’s Evidentiary Rulings Deprived Defendant of Right to Present a Complete Defense, by Douglas Ankney
33. South Carolina Supreme Court Grants New Trial Based on IAC Because of Botched Alibi Defense, by Dale Chappell
34. Massachusetts Supreme Court Suppresses Evidence Obtained After Miranda Warnings Translated into Spanish Deemed Incapable of Conveying Meaningful Advice, by David Reutter
35. Civil Death Laws: When Life is Death, by Jayson Hawkins
36. 10th Circuit: Child Porn Stored on Multiple Devices Constitutes One Count of Possession Under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B), by Douglas Ankney
37. Tell Me What I Want to Hear, Not What I Need to Hear: How Confirmation Bias Causes Wrongful Convictions, by Dale Chappell
38. Flaws in Mobile Phone Records Free Danish Prisoners, by Jayson Hawkins
39. Second Circuit Clarifies Conditions for Releasing a Defendant on Bail to Home Detention With Private Armed Security Guards, by Douglas Ankney
40. Eighth Circuit Vacates Sentence for Improper Supervision Length After ACCA Enhancement Removed, by Anthony Accurso
41. Oregon Supreme Court Explains PCR ‘Escape Clause’ Availability for Untimely Filed Petitions, by Mark Wilson
42. Roadmap for Filing a Second or Successive § 2255 Motion Under Davis, by Dale Chappell
43. Law Crazy, Government’s Insatiable Desire to Criminalize All Facets of Life, by Edward Lyon
44. Why Juries Need Expert Help Assessing Jailhouse Informants, by Alexandra Natapoff
45. Massachusetts Supreme Court Suppresses Evidence Obtained Following Illegally Prolonged Traffic Stop, Orders New Trial, by Douglas Ankney
46. How the Secretive 'Discipline' Process for Federal Prosecutors Buries Misconduct Cases, by Brooke Williams, Samata Joshi, Shawn Musgrave

More from Douglas Ankney:

• California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules, July 1, 2026
• Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026
• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026
• SCOTUS Holds Federal Habeas Court May Not Consider Post-Trial DNA Evidence That Was Never Presented to Jury When Assessing Whether False Informant Testimony Influenced Verdict, July 1, 2026
• Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Announces Six-Factor Test for Evaluating Presentence Motions to Withdraw Guilty Pleas Under Rule 32(e), Holds Binding Plea Agreement Does Not Extinguish Defendant’s Ability to Seek Withdrawal, July 1, 2026
• New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”, July 1, 2026
• Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026
• California Supreme Court Announces Amended § 1170(b) Applies Retroactively to Plea-Bargained Upper Term Sentences, July 1, 2026
• Michigan Supreme Court Announces Betts Decision Invalidating 2011 SORA as Ex Post Facto Punishment Applies Retroactively to Defendants on Collateral Review, July 1, 2026
• South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Formal Adoption of Fourth Circuit’s Three-Step Cheek Framework for Evaluating Improper Third-Party Contacts With Jurors Under Remmer, Reverses Murdaugh Murder Convictions, and Overrules Ethier Regarding Juror Testim, July 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.