More from this issue:

1. The Infuriating History of Why Police Unions Have So Much Power, by Samantha Michaels
2. Wrongly Convicted North Carolina Man Released After 44 Years in Prison, by Douglas Ankney
3. Law Review Article: Plea Bargains Lack Transparency, by David Reutter
4. Eleventh Circuit Holds RICO Conspiracy Doesn’t Qualify as Crime of Violence for § 924(c) Purposes and Defendant’s 120-Year Sentence Was Procedurally Unreasonable, by Douglas Ankney
5. Nevada Supreme Court: Search Invalid Where Police Failed to Properly Inventory Bag, by Anthony Accurso
6. Don’t Call the Cops. Especially if Your Loved Ones Are Old, Disabled or Have Special Needs, by John W. Whitehead
7. Ninth Circuit Announces Panels of Court of Appeals May Fashion Remedy When District Court Commits Daubert Error, by Douglas Ankney
8. Hawai’i Supreme Court: Search Unreasonable Where Officers Knocked and Announced Their Presence Four Times Within 25 Seconds, Then Forced Entry, by Douglas Ankney
9. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Use of Pole Cameras for Extended Surveillance of Residence Constitutes Search Under State Law, by Douglas Ankney
10. Kentucky Supreme Court: Criminal Defendant Has Right to Independent Counsel During In-Chambers Hearing on Fitness of Defense Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
11. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Vacates Guilty Plea Conditioned on Waiving Right to Pursue Claim Racial Bias Infected Jury Deliberations, by David Reutter
12. Washington Supreme Court: Prosecutor’s War on Drugs Comments Denies Fair Trial, by David Reutter
13. Louisiana Supreme Court: Statute Compelling Registered Sex Offenders to Carry ID Emblazoned with ‘SEX OFFENDER’ Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
14. Tenth Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Justify Special Condition Was Plain Error, by Dale Chappell
15. Denver 911 Calls Routed to Mental Health Professionals, by Jayson Hawkins
16. Arizona Supreme Court: Stipulated Plea Agreement Cannot Bar Review of Illegal Sentence, by David Reutter
17. Ninth Circuit: District Court Abdicated Daubert Gatekeeping Function by Failing to Make Reliability Findings on Expert Witness’ Testimony, by Anthony Accurso
18. Pennsylvania Supreme Court: No Probable Cause to Search Cellphones Merely Possessed in Proximity to Drugs and Guns, by Dale Chappell
19. Ninth Circuit Reiterates Presumption of Innocence Remains Until Conviction, Grants Habeas Relief, by Dale Chappell
20. Third Circuit: No Categorical Ban on Reliability of Recantations as New Evidence, by Dale Chappell
21. First Circuit: Prosecution Under Puerto Rico and Federal Law for Same Drug Offense Constitutes Double Jeopardy, by Matthew Clarke
22. Fifth Circuit: Special Conditions of Supervised Release That Barred Use of Internet, Computers, and Electronic Devices for 10 Years Not Substantively Reasonable, by Douglas Ankney
23. Court of Appeals of Maryland Clarifies Issues Involving Plea Agreements and Sentence Modifications Under Justice Reinvestment Act, by David Reutter
24. 7th Circuit: Ice Methamphetamine Sentence Enhancement Requires Proof of Purity, by Anthony Accurso
25. Illinois Law Firm Offers Web Application to Help Automate Expungement, by Douglas Ankney
26. Sixth Circuit: Probation Officer’s Warrantless Search of Probationer’s Cellphone Violated Fourth Amendment, by Douglas Ankney
27. New Mexico Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of Key Terms in Aggravated Fleeing From Law Enforcement Statute, by Anthony Accurso
28. New York Court of Appeals Clarifies When Police May Conduct Traffic Stops, by Douglas Ankney
29. Sixth Circuit: Savings Clause Available for Retroactive Case of Statutory Interpretation Decided While § 2255 Motion on Appeal, by Dale Chappell
30. Ninth Circuit: Asking Single Objectionable Question Insufficient to Justify Termination of Defendant’s Right to Pro Se Representation, by Douglas Ankney
31. In New York, Former Prisoners With Mental Illnesses Lack Needed Support, by Casey Bastian
32. Lawsuit Challenges DEA Cash Seizures, by Jayson Hawkins
33. Futuristic Crime Predictor Targets, Monitors People Across Florida County, by David Reutter
34. Who Pays for Police Surveillance?, by Jayson Hawkins
35. First Step Act Relief Shows Modest Results, by Dale Chappell
36. Retiree’s Home Taken for $8.41 Tax Bill Draws Michigan Supreme Court Ire, by Jayson Hawkins
37. They’re Not Secret Police, Just Police, by Anthony Accurso
38. Georgia Supreme Court Affirms Right to Resist Unlawful Arrest and Announces Right Includes Use of Proportionate Force Against Government Property, by Douglas Ankney
39. A New Style of Crime Documentary, by Jayson Hawkins
40. Report: Judicial System Gives Cops a Pass in New Jersey, Elsewhere, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
41. Startup Surveils Communities of Color for Police Using Twitter, by Anthony Accurso
42. Michigan Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction Due to Unreliable, Suggestive Showup, by Matthew Clarke
43. Texas Police S.W.A.T. Woman Over Anti-Cop Bumper Stickers, by Edward Lyon
44. Effective Crisis Management Without Police, by Jayson Hawkins
45. Hip-Hop Police Bust Careers, Not Crime, by Kevin Bliss
46. Mother Calls 911 for Assistance With 13-Year-Old Autistic Son; Police Arrive and Shoot Him, by Douglas Ankney
47. News in Brief

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Judge Grants Attorney’s Motion to Withdrawal from Corizon Health Case Due to Non-Payment, Aug. 1, 2026
• Abuse is No Excuse: Oklahoma’s Judges Deny Sentencing Relief to Prisoners Who Were Raped and Physically Assaulted, Aug. 1, 2026
• Audit of Louisiana DOC Finds Fault with Prisoner Release Calculation System, Aug. 1, 2026
• 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
• New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”, 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
• Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• No Blood, No Proof: Study Challenges Post-Cleanup DNA Evidence, April 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Daubert Standards, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
• New Study Exposes Reliability Gap in Traditional Time-of-Death Methods, April 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Daubert Standards, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
• Maine Supreme Judicial Court Announces Trial Courts Must Rigorously Scrutinize Reliability of Expert Testimony in Unrecognized Forensic Fields, Holding Trial Court Erred in Admitting Forensic Podiatry Footprint-Comparison Testimony Without a Demonstrated, Feb. 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Daubert Standards, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Improper Comments.
• Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies Framework for Evaluating Extraordinary Motions for New Trial Based on Scientific Developments, Holding Trial Court Applied Incorrect Legal Standard in Denying “Shaken Baby Syndrome” Challenge, Feb. 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Daubert Standards, Expert and Opinion Testimony.
• When AI Invents the Pixels: Challenging AI-Enhanced Video Evidence in Criminal Cases, Dec. 15, 2025. Authentication/Identification, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Writings, Recordings & Photographs, Daubert Standards, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
• Generative Suspicion: What Defense Lawyers Must Know About AI-Generated Police Reports, Nov. 15, 2025. Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Daubert Standards, Witnesses - Examination of, Official Report, Brady/Giglio/Jencks Act Issues.
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Trial Court’s Exclusion of Expert Testimony on iPhone’s Frequent Location History Data as Not Sufficiently Reliable Under Daubert-Lanigan Standard, June 15, 2024. Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Opinions and Expert Testimony, Daubert Standards.
• The Daniel Buffington Dilemma: Does His Expert Witness Testimony Satisfy Daubert?, Aug. 1, 2023. Death Penalty/Death Row, Daubert Standards, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony.
• New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Adoption of Daubert-Type Standard for Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Cases in Assessing Admissibility of Expert Evidence Under Rule 702, March 15, 2023. Daubert Standards.
• Seventh Circuit Affirms Use Of “Some Evidence” Standard in Reviewing Federal Prisoner’s Disciplinary Violations, Aug. 1, 2022. Disciplinary Hearings, Daubert Standards.