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 Dale Chappell:

• Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
• 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

More from these topics:

• U.S. Sentencing Commission Adopts 2025 Amendments 
to Resolve Circuit Conflicts, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Criminal History, Arrest/Arraignment, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• Summary of the 2025 Drug Offenses Amendment 
by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Methamphetamine, Drug Mule, Machine Guns, Safety Valve.
• Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission 
Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Compassionate Release.
• Fourth Circuit: A Finding of Offering Money to Minor 
for Videos Depicting Specific Conduct Without Establishing 
Order of Events Insufficient to Establish Offer ‘Caused’ 
Minor to Produce Explicit Material Within Meaning 
of Guidelines § 2G2.2(c)(1) Cros, July 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Applicable Guidelines Issues.
• First Circuit Announces What Constitutes ‘Otherwise Using’ 
a Dangerous Weapon for Purposes of the Four-Level 
Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2B3.1(a), May 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Probation, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• ACLU Sues BOP Over Failure to Implement First Step Act Release Credits, May 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
• Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, April 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Bank Fraud/Robbery/Theft, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Eligibility for Parole.
• 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.