More from this issue:

1. Forensic Science: Reliable and Valid?, by Jayson Hawkins
2. ‘Changes Are a Comin’, by Anthony Accurso
3. Kansas Supreme Court: Expired License Plate Doesn’t Attenuate Evidence from Illegal Seizure, by Douglas Ankney
4. Defendant’s Flight From Police’s Illegal Frisk Doesn’t Render Improperly Obtained Evidence Admissible in Maryland, by Anthony Accurso
5. Costly Electronic Monitoring Programs Replacing Ineffective Jail Bond Systems, by Kevin Bliss
6. Ninth Circuit Clarifies When Warrantless Searches of Cellphones at Border Are Reasonable, by Douglas Ankney
7. Faulty Science Still Admissible Evidence in Many States, by Kevin Bliss
8. Big Brother, Big Business, Big Law Enforcement, by Edward Lyon
9. Third Circuit Announces New Rule for Amending § 2255 Motions on Appeal, by Dale Chappell
10. Alabama OKs Chemical Castration for Some Sex Offenders, by Dale Chappell
11. California Court of Appeal Announces Defendant Convicted of Felony Accessory Is Eligible for Resentencing Under Proposition 64, by Douglas Ankney
12. Connecticut Supreme Court: When Expert’s Testimony Asserts Truth of DNA Profile Prepared by a Different Non-Testifying Expert, Confrontation Clause Is Violated, by Douglas Ankney
13. Ex-Felons’ Rights Expanding to Include Jury Duty, by Edward Lyon
14. Hundreds of Missouri Prisoners May Be Released Under New Sentencing Reform Law, by Dale Chappell
15. U.S. District Court Grants Savings Clause Petition, Vacates Mandatory Life Sentence, by Dale Chappell
16. Tenth Circuit: District Court Abused Discretion in Denying § 2255 Petition Without Hearing Where Record Didn’t Conclusively Show Defendant Not Entitled to Relief, by Douglas Ankney
17. Ninth Circuit: Drug Quantity in PSR Adopted by Sentencing Court not Binding in § 3582(c)(2) Sentence Reduction Proceedings, by Michael Berk
18. 10th Circuit: District Court Must Ensure When Defendant Waives Right to Counsel He Understands He’s Required to Adhere to Federal Procedural and Evidentiary Rules, by Douglas Ankney
19. Is Data Mining an Invasion of Privacy?, by Kevin Bliss
20. Ninth Circuit Rules IAC for Failure to Investigate Mitigating Evidence During Penalty Phase of Capital Trial, by Anthony Accurso
21. Fifth Circuit Vacates § 924 Convictions Based on Davis, by Anthony Accurso
22. Safe Interactions Between Police and Citizens, by Edward Lyon
23. Fifth Circuit Reiterates Diligence Under AEDPA Requires Consideration of Actions Both Before and After Filing of Habeas Petition, by Dale Chappell
24. 9th Circuit Says Inadvertently Placing Closed Folding Knife on Teller Counter Not Armed Bank Robbery, by Anthony Accurso
25. Oregon Supreme Court Reaffirms ‘Independent Evidence Rule’ for Accomplice Testimony, by Mark Wilson
26. Groundbreaking Connecticut Law Tracks Information on Jailhouse Snitches
27. Fifth Circuit: First Step Act Doesn’t Permit Plenary Resentencing in Retroactive Application of the Fair Sentencing Act, by Douglas Ankney
28. California Court of Appeal Explains Procedures to Determine Appropriate Relief When Conviction Is Vacated Based on People v. Chiu and Senate Bill 1437, by Douglas Ankney
29. Connecticut Supreme Court Rules 5 Days Past Due on Rent While Incarcerated Does Not Deprive Defendant of Expectation of Privacy in Home, by Anthony Accurso
30. New Hampshire Ends Death Penalty, by Jayson Hawkins
31. Fourth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Pre-Trial State Prisoner on Double Jeopardy Grounds, by Dale Chappell
32. Tennessee Supreme Court Abandons Doctrine of Abatement Ab Initio, by David Reutter
33. New Jersey Supreme Court Announces New Test to Determine When State May Obtain Second DNA Sample After Unlawfully Obtained First Sample, by Douglas Ankney
34. Fourth Circuit Reviews for Plain Error and Vacates Brandishing a Firearm Conviction Obtained Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(C)(3), by Douglas Ankney
35. Fifth Circuit: Practices of Orleans Parish Judges in Collecting Fines and Fees Violates Due Process, by Douglas Ankney
36. Tens of Thousands of Sentencing Decisions Are Hidden Within PACER, Hindering Access by Lawyers and Defendants, by Dale Chappell
37. Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Probationer Must Violate Specific Condition of Probation or Commit New Crime to Be Found in Violation, by Douglas Ankney
38. Seventh Circuit Reverses Convictions Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); Holds Underlying Offenses Do Not Qualify as ‘Crimes of Violence’, by Matthew Clarke
39. Businesses Are Focusing More and More on Aiding Offenders Reentering Society, by Kevin Bliss
40. Qualified Immunity: Explained, by Emily Clark, Amir H. Ali
41. The Mass Incarceration Epidemic Viewed Through a Young Daughter’s Eyes, by Hayley Schulman
42. Prosecutors Working to Clear Wrongful Convictions With Mixed Results, by Bill Barton

More from Dale Chappell:

• How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
• Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
• Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
• Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
• The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
• Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
• Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise a Fourth Amendment Claim, Feb. 15, 2023

More from these topics:

• Ninth Circuit Grants Stay and Abeyance of Federal Habeas Petition to Allow Petitioner to Exhaust State Remedies, April 15, 2025. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Amendments to Petition.
• Nevada Supreme Court: Theft Offenses and Possessing or Receiving Stolen Property Offenses Are Mutually Exclusive and Double Jeopardy Protections Bar Conviction for Both Offenses When Based on Same Conduct, March 15, 2025. Double jeopardy, Theft, Stolen Property.
• Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty, Feb. 15, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Exculpatory No Doctrine, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Habeas Relief in ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case, Feb. 1, 2025. junk science, Habeas Corpus, Forensic Sciences, Child Abuse/Abusers, Evidence - Admissibility.
• California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025. Settlements, Habeas Corpus, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail.
• Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Relief Where Both Trial and Appellate Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Challenge Indictment for Residential Burglary That Failed to Allege Defendant Illegally Entered a ‘Dwelling’, Jan. 15, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Constitutional Challenges/Law.
• Ninth Circuit Holds District Courts Have No Authority Under Rule 4 of Rules Governing § 2254 Cases to Dismiss Habeas Petition on the Merits, Dec. 15, 2024. Habeas Corpus, Dismissal, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• Illinois Supreme Court Announces Dismissal by Nolle Prosequi as Part of Agreement Bars State From Bringing Second Prosecution Where Defendant Satisfied Obligations and Reverses Empire Actor Jussie Smollett’s Conviction, Dec. 15, 2024. Double jeopardy, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements, Dismissal, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Ninth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to California Prisoner on Napue Claim Because Prosecution Failed to Correct Informant’s False Testimony That He Did Not Receive Any Benefit In Exchange for His Testimony, Dec. 1, 2024. Informants, Habeas Corpus, Informants and Paid Witnesses, False Testimony.
• Public Defender Files Habeas Petitions for Detainees at “Horrific” Baltimore Lockup, Nov. 15, 2024. Failure to Treat, Conditions of Confinement, Hygiene Supplies, Disclosure of Records, Habeas Corpus.