More from this issue:

1. A Nation on the Brink, by Christopher Zoukis
2. Office of Homeland Security Circumventing Warrant Requirement by Buying Cellphone Location Data from Marketing Firm, by Anthony Accurso
3. From the Editor, by Richard Resch
4. Using Location Surveillance to Fight COVID-19 May Chill Free Speech and Association, by David Reutter
5. This Is Not a Revolution. It’s a Blueprint for Locking Down the Nation, by John W. Whitehead
6. Fourth Circuit Expands Savings Clause of § 2255(e) to Include Later Retroactivity of New Rule, by Dale Chappell
7. Seventh Circuit: Defendant’s Statement Given to Pretrial Services Can’t Be Admitted to Impeach Witness at Trial, by Douglas Ankney
8. California Court of Appeal Explains Procedural Requirements for Vacating Felony-Murder Conviction Via Section 1170.95 Petition, by Douglas Ankney
9. Police Violence Detrimental to Public Health, by Douglas Ankney
10. Congressmen File Amicus Brief Stressing Congressional Intent That First Step Act’s New Drug Laws Apply at Resentencing, by Dale Chappell
11. Indiana Supreme Court: Removal of Police’s GPS Tracker on Suspect’s Vehicle Not Probable Cause of Theft, Suppression of Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
12. New Hampshire Supreme Court: Police Violated Miranda in Obtaining First Statement, and State Failed to Prove Second Statement Was Voluntary, by Douglas Ankney
13. 5-Year Study Shows Police Stop Black Drivers Less Often at Night When ‘Veil of Darkness’ Obscures Race, by Douglas Ankney
14. Declassified Court Ruling Details FBI Abuses of Mass Surveillance Data, by Anthony Accurso
15. Second Circuit: Three Important Rulings Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
16. Marijuana Possession in Virginia Remains Illegal But Is Decriminalized, by Douglas Ankney
17. Eleventh Circuit Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Doesn’t Trigger Career Offender Enhancement, by Dale Chappell
18. COVID-19 Creates Opportunity for Big Brother in the Sky, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
19. Biden Accuser Accused of Inflating Credentials to Qualify as Expert Witness, Calling Convictions into Question, by Derek Gilna
20. Perjurous New York City Cop Sentenced to a Single Day in Jail, by Edward Lyon
21. Nebraska Supreme Court: Multiple Theft Charges for Stealing Items Belonging to Several People at Same Time and Place Violates Double Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
22. Fourth Circuit: Standalone Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Vacatur of Guilty Plea, by David Reutter
23. Is the Death Penalty Slowly Dying Across the Nation?, by Chad Marks
24. Joint State-Federal Task Forces Practice Rogue Justice Under Protection of Qualified Immunity, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
25. Colorado Supreme Court: Requiring Defense to Disclose Exhibits to Prosecution Before Trial Violates Due Process Rights, by Dale Chappell
26. Iowa Supreme Court Orders Dismissal of Charges that State Brought in Breach of Plea Agreement, by Douglas Ankney
27. Justice Office Awards $145 Million in Forensic Science Grants, by Anthony Accurso
28. Carpenter Slowly Remaking Fourth Amendment Case Law, by Anthony Accurso
29. California Federal Court Rejects Plea Agreement’s Waiver of Compassionate Release Provision, by David Reutter
30. Aggressive NYPD Police Tactics Spreading COVID-19, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
31. COVID-19 Causing Some Pretrial Detainees to Spend More Time in Jail, by Douglas Ankney
32. California Supreme Court Announces Sentencing Law Changes Apply Until Revocation Sentence Becomes Final, by Anthony Accurso
33. NY Court of Appeals: Right to Review Suppression Decision When Decision Relates Solely to a Count Satisfied by Plea but Isn’t Count to Which Defendant Pled, by Douglas Ankney
34. Report: Cops Ill-Equipped to Handle Mental Illness Crisis in Hospitals, by Edward Lyon
35. Plenty of Practice Prevents Poor Police Performance, by Edward Lyon
36. Fifth Circuit Clarifies How ‘Pronouncement Requirement’ Applies to Supervision Conditions, by Douglas Ankney
37. First Circuit: Sentence Imposed Under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(c) Is ‘Covered Offense’ Under § 404 of First Step Act, by Douglas Ankney
38. Minnesota Supreme Court: Hotel Guests Have Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Registry Information, by Douglas Ankney
39. Sixth Circuit: Courts May Consider Good Prison Conduct in Sentence Reduction Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
40. DNA Database of NYC’s Chief Medical Examiner Plagued with Errors, by Douglas Ankney
41. South Carolina Supreme Court Rejects U.S. Supreme Court’s Shifting of Burden to Defendant to Prove Absence of Exigent Circumstances in DUI Cases, by Douglas Ankney
42. Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Expired Vehicle Registration Isn’t ‘Breach of the Peace’ Justifying Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
43. Report: Risk Assessment Tools not Effective, Especially When not Used, by Kevin Bliss
44. Sixth Circuit: District Court’s Refusal to Reduce Crack Sentence Under First Step Act Requires Justification, by Dale Chappell
45. Florida Supreme Court Abandons Circumstantial Evidence Review Standard, by David Reutter
46. Courts Oppose Prosecutors’ Attempts to Right Past Wrongs, by Douglas Ankney
47. No Trust Between Police and Communities They Patrol, by Kevin Bliss
48. COVID-19 May Ring in a New Era of High-Tech Private Policing, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
49. North Carolina Supreme Court: Giving Finger to Police Not Disorderly Conduct Justifying Traffic Stop, by Dale Chappell
50. New Technique Separates Mixed DNA Evidence to Tell Suspects from Victims, by Dale Chappell
51. Feds Ramp up Purchase of Riot Gear in Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic, by Douglas Ankney
52. Army Veteran Serving Life Without Parole for Taking $9, by Douglas Ankney
53. Sixth Circuit Vacates Firearms Possession Conviction; Government Showed Jury Unauthenticated Prejudicial Facebook Video Not Admitted as Evidence, by Matthew Clarke
54. News in Brief

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
• Fourth Circuit Excuses Maryland Prisoner From Exhaustion Requirement in PREA Claim, 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

More from these topics:

• Colorado Supreme Court Holds Defendant Was in ‘Custody’ for Miranda Purposes Because She Had Hands Bagged and Zip Tied, Commanded Not to Remove Them, and Questioned Alone in Interrogation Room With Door Closed, Feb. 15, 2025. Miranda, Custodial Interrogations.
• Eleventh Circuit Reverses District Court’s Grant of Habeas Relief, Notes It’s ‘Murky on When Putting Two Suspects in a Room Together Qualifies as Interrogation Under Miranda’, July 15, 2024. AEDPA, Miranda, Custodial Interrogations, Minors, Use of, Interrogation.
• Oregon Supreme Court Rules Police Questioning of Probationer in Probation Officer’s Secure Office Absent Miranda Warning Constitute ‘Compelling Circumstances’ and Suppresses Statements, June 15, 2024. Miranda, Custodial Interrogations, Interrogation, In Custody.
• DEA and Police Use Pretense of Consent Searches to Effectively Steal Cash From Airport Travelers, March 15, 2024. Racial Profiling, Consent, False Inducement, Police/Govt Misconduct.
• First Circuit: Miranda Waiver Not Valid Where Interrogating Officer Answered ‘No’ to Defendant’s Question — ‘None of this can be used against me, can it?’, March 15, 2024. Miranda, Custodial Interrogations, In-home, Right To Remain Silent, Interrogation, Voluntary Nature/Voluntariness.
• Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Test to Determine When Person Becomes Agent of the State and Rules Jailhouse Snitch Was Agent, Requiring Suppression of Defendant’s Statements, Jan. 15, 2024. Informants, Post-Arrest Statements, Informants and Paid Witnesses, Confessions - Admissibility, Police Interrogations, Custodial Interrogations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant.
• New Jersey Supreme Court Orders New Trial Because Detective Failed to Clarify Suspect’s Ambiguous Request for Counsel During Interrogation, Sept. 15, 2022. New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Custodial Interrogations.
• Vermont Supreme Court: Under Totality of Circumstances, Police Interview of Defendant in Store Parking Lot Was ‘Custodial Interrogation,’ Triggering Requirement for Miranda Warnings, May 1, 2022. Miranda, Custodial Interrogations.
• California Court of Appeal: Police Created Atmosphere of Custodial Interrogation Requiring Miranda Warnings Even Though Prearrest Interview Occurred in Teen Suspect’s Home, Dec. 15, 2021. Miranda, Custodial Interrogations.
• U.S. v. Saafir, No. 13-4049 (4th Cir.) (754 F.3d 262) (June 11, 2014) (Per Curiam), Sept. 8, 2014. Punch And Jurists, False Inducement.