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. Washington Supreme Court: Prosecutor’s War on Drugs Comments Denies Fair Trial, by David Reutter
12. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Vacates Guilty Plea Conditioned on Waiving Right to Pursue Claim Racial Bias Infected Jury Deliberations, by David Reutter
13. Tenth Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Justify Special Condition Was Plain Error, by Dale Chappell
14. Louisiana Supreme Court: Statute Compelling Registered Sex Offenders to Carry ID Emblazoned with ‘SEX OFFENDER’ Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
15. Denver 911 Calls Routed to Mental Health Professionals, by Jayson Hawkins
16. Ninth Circuit: District Court Abdicated Daubert Gatekeeping Function by Failing to Make Reliability Findings on Expert Witness’ Testimony, by Anthony Accurso
17. Arizona Supreme Court: Stipulated Plea Agreement Cannot Bar Review of Illegal Sentence, by David Reutter
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. 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
22. First Circuit: Prosecution Under Puerto Rico and Federal Law for Same Drug Offense Constitutes Double Jeopardy, by Matthew Clarke
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. They’re Not Secret Police, Just Police, by Anthony Accurso
37. Retiree’s Home Taken for $8.41 Tax Bill Draws Michigan Supreme Court Ire, by Jayson Hawkins
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. Effective Crisis Management Without Police, by Jayson Hawkins
44. Texas Police S.W.A.T. Woman Over Anti-Cop Bumper Stickers, by Edward Lyon
45. Hip-Hop Police Bust Careers, Not Crime, by Kevin Bliss
46. News in Brief
47. Mother Calls 911 for Assistance With 13-Year-Old Autistic Son; Police Arrive and Shoot Him, by Douglas Ankney

More from Douglas Ankney:

• 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
• Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts, Feb. 15, 2025
• California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhancements, Feb. 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Revives Claims Against Virginia Jailers by Detainee They Allegedly Manhandled While Handcuffed, Feb. 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim Against Guard in Stabbing, Feb. 15, 2025
• Minnesota Supreme Court Announces No Duty to Retreat When Using Reasonable Force in Defense of Another and Provides Framework for Analyzing Such Claims, Feb. 1, 2025
• NIJ Partners With Doctor to Develop Better Screening Method to Detect and Identify Drugs Postmortem, Jan. 15, 2025
• Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration, Jan. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• Eighth Circuit Holds Right to Self-Representation Is Not Forfeited Based Solely on Defendant’s Repeated Assertion of Frivolous ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Arguments, Sept. 1, 2024. Sovereign Immunity, Judicial or Administrative Orders, Self-representation.
• Georgia Supreme Court Announces Overruling Longstanding Rule That Anything Filed by Defendant While Represented by Counsel Is Always a ‘Legal Nullity’, June 15, 2023. Self-representation.
• California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Denial of Faretta Request Without Finding of ‘Severe Mental Illness’ Denied Defendant Sixth Amendment Right to Self-Representation, Feb. 15, 2023. Mental Health, Self-representation, Mental Health Records.
• Third Circuit: District Court’s Focus on Substance of Defendant’s Meritless Arguments in Denying Request to Represent Himself Resulted in Inadequate Inquiry Prior to Denial in Violation of Sixth Amendment, July 15, 2022. Self-representation.
• Mailbox Rule Inapplicable to Prisoners Represented by Counsel, Oct. 1, 2021. Due Process, Legal Mail, Periods of Delay, Self-representation.
• Seventh Circuit: Prisoner Has Right to Know Conditions of Supervised Release Prior to Being Released, Jan. 15, 2021. Conditions of, Prisoners' Rights.
• Eighth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief, Finds Arkansas Supreme Court Wrongly Denied Defendant’s Self-Representation Request, Jan. 15, 2021. Eighth Amendment, Habeas Corpus, Self-representation.
• Seventh Circuit Holds Illinois Prisoners Retain Fourth Amendment Rights to Bodily Privacy, Overruling Circuit Precedents, Jan. 1, 2021. Strip Searches, Privacy Act/Rights, Prisoners' Rights.
• U.S. v. Rothbard, No. 16-3996 (7th Cir.) (851 F.3d 699) (March 17, 2017) (Judge Diane P. Wood), April 24, 2017. Punch And Jurists, Adequacy.
• Lucas v. U.S., No. 14-2291 (2nd Cir.) (775 F.3d 544) (January 7, 2015) (Per Curiam), Dec. 1, 2015. Punch And Jurists, Adequacy.