More from this issue:

1. One More Reason to Dislike Your State’s DMV, by Edward Lyon
2. Trial Penalty: The Harm in Coercive Prosecutorial Tactics and Plea Bargains, by David Reutter
3. Virginia Supreme Court Reverses Concealed Weapon Offense Because Statutory Exception Applied, by Douglas Ankney
4. The Federal Habeas Corpus: Government’s Response and Your Reply, by Dale Chappell
5. The Many Roads to Relief Under Borden, by Dale Chappell
6. Montana Supreme Court: Court Reporter’s Medical Emergency and Judge’s Distress Don’t Constitute Manifest Necessity for Declaring Mistrial, Retrial Violates Double Jeopardy, by Douglas Ankney
7. Virginia Passes Comprehensive Record Clearance Legislation, by Casey Bastian
8. Arizona Supreme Court: Trial Court’s Failure to Protect Defendant’s Right to Conflict-Free Counsel May Be Raised on Direct Appeal 16 Massachusetts Supreme Court: Error to Exclude Expert Testimony on Significance of Tattoo to Support Claim of Self-Defense, by Douglas Ankney
9. Massachusetts Supreme Court: Error to Exclude Expert Testimony on Significance of Tattoo to Support Claim of Self-Defense, by David Reutter
10. Seventh Circuit: Coworker Cannot Limitlessly Search Defendant’s Office at Direction of FBI, by Anthony Accurso
11. Nebraska Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Pretrial Motion for Absolute Discharge on Speedy Trial Grounds, by Matthew Clarke
12. Fourth Circuit Reverses ‘Abusive Language’ Conviction Where Government Failed to Offer Evidence That Racial Slur Tended to Cause Immediate Acts of Violence, by Douglas Ankney
13. Should Public Defenders Be Tweeting?, by Anthony Accurso
14. California Court of Appeal Vacates Guilty Plea That Resulted in Legal Fiction, by David Reutter
15. California Court of Appeal: When Federal Court Finds Petitioner Satisfies Schlup Standard, Victim Compensation Board Must Recommend Payment of Claim Without Hearing, by Douglas Ankney
16. National Institute of Justice Funds Research to Differentiate Injuries Caused by Child Abuse from Accidental Injuries, by Matthew Clarke
17. Police Funding Reallocated to Community Programs Nationwide, by Casey Bastian
18. Ninth Circuit: Directly Searching Inside Detainee’s Pocket Not a Valid Terry Frisk for Weapons, by Anthony Accurso
19. Atavistic South Carolinians Offer Option of Firing Squad to Condemned Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
20. Delaware Supreme Court: Substitution Not Allowed for Chain of Custody Witness, by Anthony Accurso
21. Sixth Circuit: District Court May Consider Disparity of Defendant’s Actual Sentence Compared With Sentence Under First Step Act When Additional Factors Present, by Douglas Ankney
22. Eighth Circuit: Plain Error to Impose Destructive-Device Enhancement for .410 Shotgun, by David Reutter
23. Tenth Circuit Reverses Denial of Suppression Motion Because Rationale for Community-Caretaker Exception Unreasonable, by Douglas Ankney
24. Report: NYPD Sold Almost 22,000 of the 55,000 Phones Seized Last Year, by Douglas Ankney
25. SCOTUS: Cady’s ‘Community Caretaking’ Function of Police Doesn’t Create Standalone Doctrine Permitting Warrantless Entry into a Home, by Douglas Ankney
26. Maryland and Montana: First States to Pass Laws Restricting Access to Consumer Genealogy Databases by Law Enforcement, by Casey Bastian
27. It’s No Shock That Tasers Increase Brutality, by Casey Bastian
28. South Carolina Supreme Court: Lifetime SORA Registration Requirement Unconstitutional Absent Opportunity for Judicial Review of Risk of Re-offending, by Anthony Accurso
29. Mississippi Supreme Court: Drug Buy Between Dealer and User Doesn’t Constitute Conspiracy to Distribute, by David Reutter
30. New Mexico Supreme Court: Constitutional Error to Accept Plea Without Assistance of Counsel, by David Reutter
31. California Court of Appeal Reverses Felony-Murder Conviction Where Sentencing Occurred After SB 1437 Enacted, by Matthew Clarke
32. Maryland Enacts Significant Police Reform, Overriding Governor’s Veto, by Jayson Hawkins
33. Decision Not to Prosecute May Reduce Chance of Recidivism, by Kevin Bliss
34. FBI Subpoenas Media Outlets for Information on Readers of Stories Criticizing Government, by Dale Chappell
35. Fourth Circuit Extends Gant’s Automobile Search-Incident-to-Arrest Framework to Searches of Non-Vehicular Containers, by Douglas Ankney
36. Texas Supreme Court: Multiple Misdemeanor Charges Resulting From Single Arrest Divisible for Expunction Purposes, by Douglas Ankney
37. Police Legal Defense Funds Have Millions in Reserve, by Jayson Hawkins
38. Big Brother Is Watching You Through Your Car, by Jayson Hawkins
39. Constitutional Protections No Protection for Colorado Man Killed by Police, by Casey Bastian
40. Warrantless Warrants and Crooked Courts in Chicago, by Jayson Hawkins
41. Details Surface About Firm That Hacked iPhone for the FBI in 2016, by Anthony Accurso
42. Debunking the Myth of ‘Dangerous’ Traffic Stops, by Jayson Hawkins
43. Reports Show Law Enforcement Groups Are Main Force Pushing New Anti-Protest Laws, by Matthew Clarke
44. Prosecutors Call for Humane Sentencing Measures, by Kevin Bliss
45. Jury Refuses to Hold Abusive Cops Accountable for Beating Undercover Cop, by Anthony Accurso
46. Digital Dogs, New Technology Designed to Sniff-Out Crime, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
47. Two T-shirts Cost Louisiana Man 20 Years, by Edward Lyon
48. Police Use of Facial Recognition May Be Broader Than Expected, by Anthony Accurso
49. When Police Ignore Ordered Changes, Is It Really Reform?, by Douglas Ankney
50. The People Have Spoken: Clemency Appointments Should Follow the Will of the People, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
51. The Louisiana Board of Parole Giveth and Taketh Away: The Troubling Case of Bobby Sneed, by Casey Bastian
52. Police Target People of Color for Cannabis Crimes Despite Legalization, by Anthony Accurso
53. Bodycams Do Not Hold Cops Accountable, Communities Do, by Anthony Accurso
54. News in Brief

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:

• 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.
• First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners, Feb. 1, 2025. First Step Act, Resentencing, Credits.
• The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Parole Liability, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
• Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Revocation Proceedings, Overreaching.
• After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Attempts/Incomplete Acts, Credits, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures.
• Seventh Circuit Announces Maximum Revocation Sentence for Violation of Supervised Release Based on Classification of Underlying Offense at Time of Conviction, Not at Time of Revocation, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation Proceedings.
• California Supreme Court Announces Retroactivity of 2022 Version of Penal Code § 1170 to Upper-Term Sentences Imposed Before Its Enactment, Dec. 15, 2024. Retroactivity, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
• First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement by Implicitly Arguing for Upward Variant Sentence by Including Pictures and Video of Defendant That Allegedly Depict His Criminal Tendencies in Sentencing Memo, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Grounds for Variance, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Grounds.
• Fifth Circuit Judges Battle in Louisiana Over-Detention Cases, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Overdetention, Credits.
• California Supreme Court Announces Uncharged and Unproven Offense-Specific Enhancements May Not Be Imposed Under § 1172.6(e) Resentencing, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.