More from this issue:

1. News in Brief
2. Cops Killed Nearly 13 Times More People Than Mass Shooters, by Bill Barton
3. U.S. District Judge Blows Open ATF Fake Stash-House Stings, Wants to Know Why They Only Target Minorities, by Dale Chappell
4. New Jersey Tightens Reins on Civil Asset Forfeiture, by Douglas Ankney
5. Nevada Supreme Court: 26-Month Delay Between Charges and Arrest Constitutes Speedy Trial Violation, by Anthony Accurso
6. New York to Seal Convictions for Small Amounts of Marijuana
7. Warrant Gives Police Access to DNA Database, by Jayson Hawkins
8. Rhode Island Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Due to Prosecutor’s Remarks and Jury Consideration of Inadmissible Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
9. Colorado Supreme Court Announces Implied Bias the Same as Actual Juror Bias, Requiring Automatic Reversal, by Anthony Accurso
10. Racial Disparity at Sentencing on the Rise, by Anthony Accurso
11. NYC Drug Prosecutor Bucks Trend of Releasing List of Cops with Credibility Issues, by Douglas Ankney
12. Louisiana Supreme Court: State Abused Charging Authority by Dismissing and Reinstituting Charges to Circumvent Adverse Court Ruling, by Anthony Accurso
13. Jury Nullification as a Cure for Prosecutorial Overreach, by Anthony Accurso
14. New Lie Detectors Are On the Way, But Are They Better Than the Old One?, by Anthony Accurso
15. California Supreme Court: Positioning Computer Monitor to Obstruct Defendant’s View of Complaining Witness Violates Confrontation Clause, by Douglas Ankney
16. Ohio Supreme Court: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Analysis Applies to Failure to Seek Waiver of Court Costs, by David M. Reutter
17. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Police Must Inform Arrested Driver That Passenger Can Assume Custody of Vehicle if Lawful and Practical as Alternative to Impoundment, by Douglas Ankney
18. California Court of Appeal: Hunch That Proves Correct Is Not Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
19. Sex Offenders Go to W.A.R., by Edward Lyon
20. New Orleans Sheriff’s Office Tracked Cellphones Absent Warrants, by Chad Marks
21. Nevada Supreme Court: Duress Defense May be Used for Non-Death Penalty Charges, Even When Connected to Charges Punishable by Death, by Dale Chappell
22. Reform-Minded Prosecutors Use Charging Discretion to Benefit Communities, by Anthony Accurso
23. Kansas Supreme Court: Claim of Illegal Sentence Raised for First Time on Appeal Entitled to Merits Review, by Michael Berk
24. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds Retention of Defendant’s ID Card Constitutes ‘Seizure’ for Fourth Amendment Purposes, by Dale Chappell
25. Sex Offender Registries Grounded in False Notions, by Anthony Accurso
26. Third Circuit Holds ‘Bare’ Arrest Record Insufficient to Support Higher Sentence, by Dale Chappell
27. Fact or Fiction, Television Crime Shows Ignore Racism and Reality, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
28. The Faulty Science of Breathalyzers, by Jayson Hawkins
29. Sixth Circuit: Ohio’s Stringent Post-Conviction Filing Deadline Opens Window for Federal Review Under Trevino, by Anthony Accurso
30. Maryland Court of Appeals Announces, When Requested, Trial Courts Must Ask During Voir Dire Whether Jurors Will Follow Court’s Instructions on Presumption of Innocence, Burden of Proof, and Right Not to Testify, by Douglas Ankney
31. Louisiana Supreme Court: When an Identified Attorney Seeks to Assist a Person in Custody and Police Fail to Inform the Person, Inculpatory Statements Must Be Suppressed, by Douglas Ankney
32. D.C. Circuit: 18 U.S.C. § 1114 Does Not Apply Overseas But § 924(c) Does, by Douglas Ankney
33. Third Circuit: Confrontation Clause Violated When Jury Is Told ‘Other Guy’ Referenced in Non-Testifying Codefendant’s Statement Is the Defendant, by Douglas Ankney
34. Georgia Supreme Court Overrules 50 Years of Jurisprudence and Announces Courts Are to Consider Cumulative Prejudice of Trial Court and Counsel Errors, by Douglas Ankney
35. Ninth Circuit Orders Habeas Relief After California Concedes Conviction Should Be Overturned Due to Defense Counsel’s ‘Virulent Racism’, by Douglas Ankney
36. Michigan Supreme Court: Defendant Entitled to Self-defense Jury Instruction, by David M. Reutter
37. Seventh Circuit Holds Brain Injury May Allow Equitable Tolling to File Late Habeas Petition, by Dale Chappell
38. Life Sentence for Murder Overturned by New DNA Technology, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
39. Expert’s Burn-Pattern Conclusions Flawed, by David M. Reutter
40. New York’s SARA Requirements Force Sex-Offenders into Homelessness Then Hold Them in Prison Due to Their Homelessness, by Kevin Bliss
41. Law Review Article Zeros in on Roadblocks to Plea Bargain Fairness and Effectiveness, by David M. Reutter
42. Kansas Supreme Court: State Failed to Prove Building Was a Dwelling, by Douglas Ankney
43. Maine Supreme Court Declares Blood Draw Statute Unconstitutional, Overruling Cormier, by Douglas Ankney
44. Utah District Court Finds First Step Act Gives Court Authority to Reduce Stacked 55-Year § 924(c) Sentence, by Chad Marks
45. Seventh Circuit Vacates Guilty Pleas Based on Misinformation of Mandatory Minimum, by David M. Reutter
46. More Trainings Are Not the Answer to Police Violence Against Disabled People, by Euree Kim
47. Sixth Circuit Adopts ‘Naked Eye Test’ for Altered Firearm Serial Number Enhancement, by Dale Chappell
48. Connecticut Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for Confrontation Clause Claims; Reverses and Remands for a New Trial, by Douglas Ankney
49. Spirited (But Problematic?) Advocacy for Bernie Madoff to Receive Compassionate Relief, by Professor Douglas A. Berman
50. Iowa Supreme Court: Officer’s Delay of Traffic Stop to Investigate Other Matters Unconstitutional, by David M. Reutter
51. The Rise of Smart Camera Networks, and Why We Should Ban Them, by Michael Kwet

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Third Circuit Upholds Award of $265,000 to Prisoner 
Who Was Sexually Assaulted Twice by the Same Guard, Aug. 1, 2025
• Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA, Aug. 1, 2025
• $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner 
Whose Baby Was Stillborn, July 15, 2025
• New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing 
for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, July 15, 2025
• New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, July 15, 2025
• Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference 
Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim 
for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, July 15, 2025
• Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance 
in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, July 15, 2025
• Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose 
Records of Private Contractors, July 15, 2025
• Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission 
Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025
• South Carolina Prisoners Granted Class-Action Status in Suit 
Over Low Wages in Prison Industries Jobs, July 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• Colorado Supreme Court Announces Police Facilitating 
Drug-­Detection Dog’s Entry Into Vehicle by Opening Door 
During Traffic Stop Without Probable Cause Is Unconstitutional Search in Violation of Fourth Amendment, July 1, 2025. Fourth Amendment, rights, Drug-Sniffing Dog, Automobile Searches/Seizures.
• SCOTUS Announces Rejection of ‘Moment-of-Threat 
Doctrine’ Because It Improperly Narrows Required 
‘Totality of the Circumstances’ Analysis for Fourth 
Amendment Excessive-Force Claims, May 15, 2025. Shootings, Police--Excessive Force, Excessive Force (Police), Fourth Amendment, rights.
• California Supreme Court: Presence in High Crime Area and Desire to Avoid Contact With Police Does Not Amount to Reasonable Suspicion Justifying Detention for Suspected Criminal Activity, Aug. 1, 2024. Fourth Amendment, rights, Suspicionless Searches.
• Harris County, Texas, Settles Civil Rights Case for $1.5 Million Brought by Innocent Man Shot in His Home Five Times by Trigger-Happy Deputy, Feb. 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Excessive Force (Police), Fourth Amendment, rights, Police/Govt Misconduct, Monell Liability, Fourth Amendment.
• Fifth Circuit: Placing Jacket Within Fenced-In Area of Home in Presence of Police Evidences Clear Intent Not to Abandon It, Warrantless Search Violates Fourth Amendment Rights, June 15, 2023. Fourth Amendment, rights, Warrantless Searches, Searches - Home/Curtilage, Specific Intent.
• Fifth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Mississippi Cops Who Let Injured Hemophiliac Bleed Out in Jail, Feb. 1, 2023. Blood, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
• Fourth Amendment Loopholes and the PATRIOT Act’s Legacy, Sept. 15, 2022. Fourth Amendment, rights, Patriot Act, USA Patriot Act.
• Prison Visitors Have Fourth Amendment Right to Refuse Strip Search and Option to Leave Prison, Dec. 1, 2021. Strip Searches, Visitor Searches, Fourth Amendment, rights.
• Revocation Nation: Reincarceration for Technical Parole Violations in the Age of COVID-19, Nov. 15, 2020. Fourth Amendment, rights, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Revocation Proceedings.
• Fourth Circuit: Opening of Detainee’s Legal Mail Outside His Presence Violates Right to Free Speech, Nov. 1, 2020. Legal Mail, Fourth Amendment, rights, Sixth Amendment.