More from this issue:

1. Qualified Immunity - A Legal, Practical, and Moral Failure, by Jay Schweikert
2. Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Suit Challenging Idaho’s Sex Offender Registration Law, by Douglas Ankney
3. Column: Raising Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, by Dale Chappell
4. Tenth Circuit Vacates Enhancement for Prior Crime of Violence Because it Wasn’t Independently Eligible to Receive Criminal History Points, by Anthony Accurso
5. California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Abused Discretion by Denying Romero Motion and Life Sentence for Attempted Robbery Is Cruel and Unusual Under State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
6. Third Circuit Announces Prohibition Against Second Resentencing Under First Step Act Can Be Waived by Government, by Matthew Clarke
7. Seventh Circuit Joins Other Circuits Holding Any Crack Cocaine Offense Under § 841 Qualifies for First Step Act Relief, by Dale Chappell
8. California Court of Appeal: Counsel Ineffective for Failure to Investigate Mental Health History, by Douglas Ankney
9. Michigan Supreme Court: Police Must Limit Search of Cellphone Data to Uncovering Evidence of the Criminal Activity Alleged in Warrant, by Douglas Ankney
10. Fifth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity When Police Fatally Beat Unresisting Man Suffering Mental Health Crisis, by Matthew Clarke
11. North Carolina Supreme Court: Superior Court Abused Discretion by Flatly Prohibiting Questions on Racial Bias During Voir Dire, by Douglas Ankney
12. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Witness Testifying Remotely Via Two-Way Video Without Sufficient Reason Violates Confrontation Clause, by Douglas Ankney
13. Fifth Circuit: District Court Cannot Delegate to Probation Officer Authority to Impose Inpatient Treatment, by Douglas Ankney
14. Kansas Supreme Court: Wrong Standard Used in Review of Plea Withdrawal Motion Requires Remand, by David Reutter
15. Indiana Supreme Court: Speedy Trial Right Violated After 6.5 Years Without Retrial, by Anthony Accurso
16. Raid on Data Scientist’s Home Underscores Outdated Technology Laws and Unjustifiable Police Use of Force, by Anthony Accurso
17. Nevada Supreme Court: Defendant Has Right to Withdraw Plea Where He Wasn’t Informed of Range of Possible Punishments, by Douglas Ankney
18. Voters Speak: Dump Tough-On-Crime Prosecutors, Boost Police Oversight, by Dale Chappell
19. Ohio Supreme Court: ‘Avoid Impregnating a Woman’ as Probation Condition for Failing to Pay Child Support Unreasonable, by Dale Chappell
20. Texas Supreme Court Announces Factual-Sufficiency Standard of Review in SVP Determinations, by Douglas Ankney
21. California Court of Appeal: SB 136 Makes Plea Agreement Containing Prior Prison Enhancement Unenforceable, by Douglas Ankney
22. ACLU Spotlights FBI’s Encryption-Breaking Tool in Freedom of Information Suit, by Derek Gilna
23. North Carolina Supreme Court: Testimony That Improperly Bolstered Victim’s Credibility Was Plain Error, by Douglas Ankney
24. Second Circuit Clarifies What Constitutes ‘Possession of a Dangerous Weapon’ and ‘Physical Restraint’ Under the Guidelines, by Dale Chappell
25. Ohio Supreme Court: Jury Must Find Use of Force, Not Sentencing Court, for Mandatory Minimum Sentences, by Anthony Accurso
26. San Francisco Forensic Analyst’s Arrest on Drug Charges Exposes Flawed Lab, by Derek Gilna
27. Montana Supreme Court: Five-Year Delay Violates Speedy Trial and Is Presumptively Prejudicial, by Douglas Ankney
28. SCOTUS: RFRA’s ‘Appropriate Damages’ Includes Monetary Awards, by Douglas Ankney
29. First Circuit Joins Sister Circuits Holding Hobbs Act Robbery Conspiracy not Crime of Violence for 924(c), by Dale Chappell
30. Fatal Shootings by Police Rarely Prosecuted, by Jayson Hawkins
31. Misinformation and the Carceral State, by Jayson Hawkins
32. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Blood Alcohol Test Results From Blood Drawn Under Court Order but Without Consent Is Inadmissible, by Matthew Clarke
33. A 22-Year-Long Path to Justice, by Jayson Hawkins
34. Police Departments Buying Teslas, by Anthony Accurso
35. Mens Rea: Criminal Liability Should Equal Criminal Intent, by Casey Bastian
36. Walter Forbes of Michigan Exonerated After 37 Years in Prison, by Kevin Bliss
37. First Circuit: Rehaif Error Rendered Guilty Plea Invalid, by Dale Chappell
38. The Need for Legislation Governing Police Use of Robots, by Douglas Ankney
39. News in Brief

More from Dale Chappell:

• Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
• How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
• Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
• Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
• Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
• The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
• Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023

More from these topics:

• Ninth Circuit Announces Murder-for-Hire Resulting in Death Under 18 U.S.C. § 1958(a) Is Not Categorically Crime of Violence and Cannot Serve as Predicate Offense for Solicitation Under 18 U.S.C. § 373(a), Aug. 1, 2026. Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
• Eleventh Circuit Announces Hobbs Act Robbery Requires Force Before or During Taking, Reversing Conviction Where Defendant Used Force Only After Co-Conspirator Had Surreptitiously Stolen Property and Departed, March 1, 2026. New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Theft, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Predicate Acts/Offenses, Hobbs Act.
• 1994 Crime Bill Turns 30: A Legacy of Controversy, Jan. 15, 2025. Crime, Statistics/Trends, Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
• Second Circuit Vacates § 924 Convictions Predicated on Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery, Sept. 1, 2023. Bank Fraud/Robbery/Theft, Hobbs Act.
• Second Circuit: Second-Degree Kidnapping Under New York Penal Law § 135.20 Not Categorically a Crime of Violence, Aug. 1, 2023. Kidnapping, Abduction or Unlawful Restraint, Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence.
• Fourth Circuit Declines to Enforce Appeal Waiver and Procedural Default Excused by ‘Cause and Actual Prejudice,’ Reverses Denial of § 2255 Motion to Vacate § 924(c) Conviction Based on Hobbs Act Conspiracy, June 15, 2023. Wrongful Conviction, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Cause and Prejudice, Hobbs Act.
• Fifth Circuit Announces Louisiana Aggravated Assault With Firearm Still Not ‘Crime of Violence’ After 2012 Amendment for Purposes of Sentencing Guidelines, Nov. 15, 2022. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence.
• SCOTUS Holds Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery Not a ‘Crime of Violence’ Under a § 924(c)(3)(A), Aug. 15, 2022. Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, Hobbs Act.
• Third Circuit, Joining Every Other Circuit That’s Addressed the Issue, Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Does Not Qualify as ‘Crime of Violence’, March 15, 2022. Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, Possession or Use of Firearms, Hobbs Act.
• Tenth Circuit Vacates Enhancement for Prior Crime of Violence Because it Wasn’t Independently Eligible to Receive Criminal History Points, Feb. 15, 2021. Conflicting Provisions, Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.