More from this issue:

1. Changing Perception, Changing The Law, by Jean Trounstine
2. California Supreme Court Finds IAC, Vacates Conviction in LAPD Officer’s Murder Case (Again) – 36 Years Later, by Dale Chappell
3. Ninth Circuit Opens Door for Savings Clause Relief, Recognizes ‘Actual Innocence’ for Mandatory Career Offender Sentences, by Dale Chappell
4. Seventh Circuit: Trial Judge Violated 5th Amendment by Modifying Instructions to Allow Jury to Convict on Offenses Not Charged in Indictment, by Douglas Ankney
5. Attacking the Guilty Plea: The Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Standard, by Dale Chappell
6. Suspending the Constitution: Police State Uses Crises to Expand Its Lockdown Powers, by John W. Whitehead
7. SCOTUS: ‘Serious Drug Offense’ Under ACCA Is Self-Defining, Match with Equivalent Federal Offense Not Required, by Dale Chappell
8. Kansas Supreme Court Holds Threat of Violence Statute Violates First Amendment to Extent it Criminalizes ‘Reckless’ Conduct, by Dale Chappell
9. SCOTUS: Advocating for Shorter Sentence Sufficient to Preserve Claim that Sentence Imposed Greater Than Necessary to Comply With 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), by Douglas Ankney
10. New York Court of Appeals Orders Resentencing Because Trial Court Relied on Testimony from Improperly Unsealed Record, by Douglas Ankney
11. California Court of Appeal: Senate Bill 1437 Abrogates ‘Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine’ in Attempted Murder Prosecutions and Applies Retroactively to Cases on Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
12. Sixth Circuit: Cardiologist’s Right to Due Process Violated Where District Court Ordered Government to Not Disclose Third Party’s Expert Evaluation of Medical Care Provided by Him, by Douglas Ankney
13. En Banc Ninth Circuit Provides Guidance on When Amended Habeas Petition ‘Relates Back’ to Original Claims to Avoid Dismissal as Untimely, by Dale Chappell
14. First Circuit: Home Search Affidavit Failed to Establish Nexus of Crime and Evidence, by David Reutter
15. First Circuit: Securing a Weapon Not Used in Offense Is Not Exigent Circumstance Permitting Warrantless Entry and Search of Suspect’s Home, by Anthony Accurso
16. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Reverses Murder Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
17. Fifth Circuit Settles In-Circuit Confusion, Holds Implicit Extension of Time to File State Appeal Tolls AEDPA Clock to File Federal Habeas Petition, by Dale Chappell
18. Second Circuit Holds Denial to Proceed Under Pseudonym by Magistrate Judge Is Immediately Appealable, by Dale Chappell
19. Pennsylvania Prosecutors Cash in on Low-Level Drug Crimes, by Edward Lyon
20. Former Florida Deputy Jailed for Fabricating Drug Evidence, by David Reutter
21. Prosecutors Overrepresented Among Federal Judges, by Jayson Hawkins
22. ‘Travel Papers’ and the Pandemic Patriot Act 2.0, by Daisy Luther, The Organic Prepper
23. FBI ‘Assessing’ Black Americans, by Jayson Hawkins
24. Seventh Circuit: Unsupported CI Statements Insufficient to Justify Higher Drug Quantity for Sentencing, by Dale Chappell
25. California Supreme Court: Refusing to Testify Insufficient to Constitute Accessory After the Fact, by Anthony Accurso
26. Ninth Circuit: Proposition 47 Creates New, Intervening Judgment to Allow Another Federal Habeas Petition Attacking Entire Case, by Dale Chappell
27. Coronavirus: Will Courts Continue To Operate, Preserving the Rule of Law?, by Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College, The Conversation
28. Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence for Failure to Explain Extreme Departure of Guidelines Range, by Anthony Accurso
29. Washington Supreme Court Announces PRP Petition ‘Final’ Upon Issuance of Certificate of Finality to Allow Tolling of Federal Habeas Clock, by Dale Chappell
30. Repeat Offenders May Be the Result of Different Brain Composition, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
31. Hawaii Lawmakers Propose Transparency from Prosecutors, by David Reutter
32. New Fingerprint Test Can Distinguish Whether Person Ingested Cocaine or Only Touched It, by Douglas Ankney
33. Wyoming Supreme Court Finds IAC Where Counsel Failed to Challenge Prolonging of Traffic Stop After Citation Completed, by Anthony Accurso
34. North Carolina Supreme Court Announces Defendant Can Forfeit Right to Counsel by Egregious Misconduct; Trial Court May Forgo Compliance with N.C.G.S. § 15A-1242, by Douglas Ankney
35. Report: LAPD Engaged in Racial Profiling in Traffic Stops, by Kevin Bliss
36. Fingerprint Analysis: High Stakes, Low Qualifications, by Jayson Hawkins
37. California Supreme Court: Defendant Doesn’t Forfeit Claim for Failing to Object to Expert’s Testimonial Hearsay at Trial That Occurred Before Sanchez Was Decided, by Anthony Accurso
38. Big Brother Is ... Tracking You, by Douglas Ankney
39. DNA Contamination Threatened Conviction of Innocent Man, by Kevin Bliss
40. Georgia Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal of Second State Habeas Petition, by Douglas Ankney
41. Citizens in California Can No Longer be Prosecuted for Refusing to Risk Their Lives Assisting Police, by Douglas Ankney
42. Sealed Records Open for View, by Kevin Bliss
43. News Websites Rethink Using Mugshots as Click-Bait, by Dale Chappell
44. Advanced DNA Technology Helps Free Innocent Georgia Man After Nearly 18 Years in Prison, by Edward Lyon
45. In the Criminal Justice System, Big Brother Gets Bigger Every Day, by Douglas Ankney
46. City of Grand Rapids to Pay Marine $190,000 After He Was Unlawfully Detained as ‘Illegal Foreign National’, by Douglas Ankney
47. ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Still Exists Despite California Supreme Court Ruling on Opening Access to Law Enforcement Brady Lists, by Dale Chappell
48. California’s Killer Cops, by Douglas Ankney
49. Complexity and Lack of Standardization Makes Crime Statistics Less Useful, by Matthew Clarke
50. Chicago’s ‘Despicable’ Red-Light Camera System Exposed, by Douglas Ankney
51. How to Clear Your Record of Marijuana Charges in Illinois, by Dale Chappell
52. New York Police Department Plays Loose with Freedom of Information Act Laws, by Kevin Bliss
53. Could a Second Chance be the Answer?, by Kevin Bliss
54. Wrongfully Convicted NY Man Freed After 24 Years, by Jayson Hawkins
55. News in Brief
56. Chicago Police Department Ordered to Release 49 Years of Misconduct Files, by Matthew Clarke

More from Douglas Ankney:

• 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
• Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026
• New Jersey Court Rules That Denial of Transgender Prisoner’s Transfer Request Violates Neither Discrimination Law nor Equal Protection Clause, Sept. 1, 2026
• Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
• BOP Denies Providing Substandard Dialysis Treatment Despite Prisoners’ Deaths, Court Filings, Understaffing and Lack of Oversight, Sept. 1, 2026
• New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Plenary Hearing Before Special Adjudicator on Reliability of Fingerprint Evidence, Holding Century of Judicial Acceptance Did Not Satisfy Trial Court’s Gatekeeping Obligation Under N.J.R.E. 702, Aug. 1, 2026
• En Banc Eleventh Circuit Announces All Parents, Including Those Convicted of Child-Sex Offenses, Enjoy Fundamental Right to Live With Their Children, Holding Alabama Residency Prohibition Subject to Strict Scrutiny, Aug. 1, 2026
• Seventh Circuit Announces Courts May Examine Individual Officer’s Subjective Purpose When Assessing Whether Warrantless Administrative Inspection Was Pretextual, Holding Suppression Required Where Trooper’s Sole Motive for Stop Was Criminal Investigati, Aug. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Surveillance for Sale: The Data Broker Loophole and the Fourth Amendment After Chatrie, July 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Federal Funds, Tainted Funds.
• Supreme Court of Maryland Holds Officer Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Based on Acquaintance’s Tip Reporting Innocent Conduct, Reaffirming That “High-Crime Area” Testimony Must Be Particularized, July 1, 2026. Traffic stop, Motions To Suppress, Informants and Paid Witnesses, Reasonable Suspicion, Terry Stops.
• Passive Data Transforms Smart Devices Into Covert Witnesses in a Silent Surveillance State, July 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Police State-Surveillance, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Electronic Surveillance, Exclusionary Rule.
• Beyond Geofence Warrants: Chatrie, Reverse-Location Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment Fight Over Digital Dragnets, May 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Electronic Surveillance.
• The “Free Trial” Police State, March 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Use of Drones.
• Flock’s Gunshot Sensors Are Expanding to “Distress” Sounds, Feb. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Recordings, Privacy Act/Rights.
• How AI Integration Used by Law Enforcement Fails the Public, Feb. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, False Arrest, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
• Modern Drone Surveillance: The Fourth Amendment’s Blind Spot, Feb. 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Use of Drones.
• Federal Funds Now Available for Police Drone Purchases, Jan. 1, 2026. Federal Legislation, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
• Mass Surveillance for Profit: Flock’s AI Reports “Suspicious” Movement to Police, Dec. 15, 2025. Contractor Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Protests, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.