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. Second Circuit Holds Denial to Proceed Under Pseudonym by Magistrate Judge Is Immediately Appealable, by Dale Chappell
18. 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
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. California Supreme Court: Refusing to Testify Insufficient to Constitute Accessory After the Fact, by Anthony Accurso
25. Seventh Circuit: Unsupported CI Statements Insufficient to Justify Higher Drug Quantity for Sentencing, by Dale Chappell
26. Ninth Circuit: Proposition 47 Creates New, Intervening Judgment to Allow Another Federal Habeas Petition Attacking Entire Case, by Dale Chappell
27. Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence for Failure to Explain Extreme Departure of Guidelines Range, by Anthony Accurso
28. Coronavirus: Will Courts Continue To Operate, Preserving the Rule of Law?, by Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College, The Conversation
29. Repeat Offenders May Be the Result of Different Brain Composition, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
30. Washington Supreme Court Announces PRP Petition ‘Final’ Upon Issuance of Certificate of Finality to Allow Tolling of Federal Habeas Clock, by Dale Chappell
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. Georgia Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal of Second State Habeas Petition, by Douglas Ankney
40. DNA Contamination Threatened Conviction of Innocent Man, by Kevin Bliss
41. Sealed Records Open for View, by Kevin Bliss
42. Citizens in California Can No Longer be Prosecuted for Refusing to Risk Their Lives Assisting Police, by Douglas Ankney
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. California’s Killer Cops, by Douglas Ankney
48. ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Still Exists Despite California Supreme Court Ruling on Opening Access to Law Enforcement Brady Lists, by Dale Chappell
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. New York Police Department Plays Loose with Freedom of Information Act Laws, by Kevin Bliss
52. How to Clear Your Record of Marijuana Charges in Illinois, by Dale Chappell
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:

• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, April 15, 2025
• Tenth Circuit Stretches PLRA to Deny Claim of Colorado Prisoner Shot by Guard While Shackled, April 1, 2025
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces State Wiretap Statute Requires Suppression of Both Audio and Video Components of Audiovisual Footage of Unlawfully Intercepted Oral Communication Showing Defendant as Party to Communication, March 15, 2025
• California Court of Appeal Vacates Sentence Where Trial Court Imposed Sentence Under ‘One Strike’ Enhancement Statute Enacted After Crimes Were Committed, March 15, 2025
• 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
• Maryland Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Its Discretion by Failing to Exercise That Discretion Where It Summarily Refused Requested Jury Instruction Because It Was a Non-Pattern Instruction and ‘Some Evidence’ Supported the Instruction, March 15, 2025
• $100,000 Settlement Reached in New York Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Suit, After Jury for First Time Finds Practice Violates Eighth Amendment, March 1, 2025
• Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, Feb. 15, 2025
• Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, Feb. 15, 2025
• Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum, Feb. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• Virginia Parole Board Skirts New Transparency Rules, Governor Walks Back Expanded Sentence Credits—Again, March 1, 2025. Local Rules, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Credits.
• Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff, Feb. 15, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Offense of Conviction.
• The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Parole Liability, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
• Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Revocation Proceedings, Overreaching.
• After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Attempts/Incomplete Acts, Credits, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures.
• Seventh Circuit Announces Maximum Revocation Sentence for Violation of Supervised Release Based on Classification of Underlying Offense at Time of Conviction, Not at Time of Revocation, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation Proceedings.
• California Supreme Court Announces Retroactivity of 2022 Version of Penal Code § 1170 to Upper-Term Sentences Imposed Before Its Enactment, Dec. 15, 2024. Retroactivity, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
• First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement by Implicitly Arguing for Upward Variant Sentence by Including Pictures and Video of Defendant That Allegedly Depict His Criminal Tendencies in Sentencing Memo, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Grounds for Variance, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Grounds.
• Fifth Circuit Judges Battle in Louisiana Over-Detention Cases, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Overdetention, Credits.
• California Supreme Court Announces Uncharged and Unproven Offense-Specific Enhancements May Not Be Imposed Under § 1172.6(e) Resentencing, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.