More from this issue:

1. Staggering Injustice, by Derek Gilna
2. Fifth Circuit Vacates Sentence Eight Times Higher Than Guidelines Range That Was Imposed Without Explanation, by Dale Chappell
3. Federal Habeas Corpus: Retroactivity of New Rules, by Dale Chappell
4. Sex Panic: The War on Sex Offenders as Public Enemy Number One, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
5. Fourth Circuit Announces Payton’s ‘Reason to Believe’ Standard for Entering a Third-Party’s Home Based on Arrest Warrant for Suspect Amounts to Probable Cause Suspect Resides There, by Douglas Ankney
6. Colorado Supreme Court: Dividing Multiple Images of Child Pornography Into Multiple Batches to Charge Multiple Counts Violates Double Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
7. First Circuit: Double Jeopardy Protections Bar Government From Seeking Death Penalty at Retrial Where Jury’s Verdict Not Imposing Death at First Trial Ambiguous, and Trial Court Prematurely Declared Mistrial, by Douglas Ankney
8. Fired San Francisco Cop Charged With Manslaughter for Fatally Shooting Unarmed Suspect, by Dale Chappell
9. Ninth Circuit: Reasonable Suspicion Justifying Traffic Stop Doesn’t Provide Probable Cause to Open Door and Lean Inside Vehicle, by Douglas Ankney
10. California Supreme Court Vacates Murder Conviction, Finds IAC for Failure to Obtain Expert Testimony on Time of Death, by Dale Chappell
11. Police Say Seizing Property Without Trial Helps Keep Crime Down. A New Study Shows They’re Wrong., by Ian MacDougall
12. New York Court of Appeals Reverses Denial of Suppression Motion Where Prosecution Fails to Provide Specific Facts to Show Traffic Stop Was Lawful, by Douglas Ankney
13. Kansas Supreme Court Clarifies State Law Does Not Preclude Consent to Search Through Nonverbal Conduct, by Douglas Ankney
14. Michigan Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment to Protect Electronic Data and Communications, by Anthony Accurso
15. Eighth Circuit Announces ‘Use of Minor’ Enhancement Inapplicable for Merely Buying Firearm From Minor, by Dale Chappell
16. Sixth Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Government Failed to Prove Sentencing Enhancements Apply, by Dale Chappell
17. Illinois Supreme Court Announces Guilty Plea Doesn’t Bar Postconviction Claim of Actual Innocence and Provides Framework for Review, by Douglas Ankney
18. Illinois Supreme Court Announces Predicate Offenses of Home Invasion Statute are Lesser-Included Offenses of Home Invasion Statute, by Douglas Ankney
19. Montana Supreme Court: Statistical Evidence on False Accusations of Rape Improperly Bolstered Witness Credibility, by Anthony Accurso
20. Eleventh Circuit Announces Drug Offenses Involving Multiple Drugs Can Qualify as ‘Covered Offense’ Under First Step Act if Crack One of the Drugs, by Dale Chappell
21. SCOTUS Vacates Grant of Habeas Relief, Citing Habeas ‘Deference’ to State Court Decisions, by Dale Chappell
22. Eleventh Circuit: District Court ‘Mischaracterizing’ Habeas Claim Left Claim Unresolved in Violation of Clisby, Requiring Remand, by Dale Chappell
23. New York Man Exonerated of Murder and Freed After 25 Years in Prison, by Douglas Ankney
24. Ninth Circuit: Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Dismissal of Indictment, by Dale Chappell
25. Predator or Patsy? Long Sentences for Those Caught in Victimless Child Sex Stings
26. Fourth Circuit: Commercial Vehicle Permit Requirement Insufficient Grounds to Initiate Traffic Stop, by Anthony Accurso
27. California Court of Appeal: Confrontation Clause Violation Where Supervisor, Not Lab Tech Who Performed Drug Tests, Testified at Trial, by Anthony Accurso
28. Eleventh Circuit: Private Probation Company With Financial Interest in its Sentencing Decisions Violates Due Process, by David Reutter
29. Fifth Circuit: Conviction Vacated Because No Reasonable Suspicion to Search Person in High-Crime Area, by Anthony Accurso
30. Third Circuit: IAC Where Counsel Failed to Object to Accomplice-Liability Jury Instruction in Murder Case That Relieved State of Proving Specific Intent, by Dale Chappell
31. Seventh Circuit: Prisoner Has Right to Know Conditions of Supervised Release Prior to Being Released, by Douglas Ankney
32. Data Expose Demographics of Police Dog Bites, by Jayson Hawkins
33. Audit of D.C. Forensics Lab Reveals History of Botched Forensic Analyses, by Casey Bastian
34. When a Hung Jury Is Enough, by Jayson Hawkins
35. Multi-Agency Task Forces Manipulate Jurisdiction to Avoid Liability, by Casey Bastian
36. Inadequate and Outdated Training Results in Wild West Policing, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
37. New Michigan Law Expands Criminal Records Expungement, by Casey Bastian
38. Athlete Settles Tasing Suit Against Milwaukee Police, by Edward Lyon
39. Eighth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief, Finds Arkansas Supreme Court Wrongly Denied Defendant’s Self-Representation Request, by Dale Chappell
40. Police Unions Block Meaningful Criminal Justice Reform, by Casey Bastian
41. How Arkansas Criminalizes Poverty, by Jayson Hawkins
42. Massive Corruption of a Baltimore Task Force Exposed, by Casey Bastian
43. California Law Enforcement Strikes Out in 2020 Elections, by Kevin Bliss
44. NYPD Agrees to Alter Religious Headwear Policy, by Casey Bastian
45. Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces Requirement Prosecution Prove Defendant Knew Firearm Was Loaded Applies Retroactively, by Douglas Ankney
46. Prosecutors Who Demand Accountability From Everyone But Themselves, by Casey Bastian
47. Louisiana Supreme Court Vacates Murder Conviction for Speedy Trial Violation, by Dale Chappell
48. 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:

• South Dakota Supreme Court Affirms Prisoner’s Simple Assault on Guard Conviction Despite Four-Second Skip in Surveillance Video Footage, Oct. 1, 2026. Jury Instructions, Double jeopardy, Failure to Object, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Denial of Due Process.
• Ohio Supreme Court Announces Post-Verdict Judgment of Acquittal Is Not “Final Verdict” Under R.C. 2945.67(A) and Overrules Contrary Precedent, Holding State May Appeal Such Judgment by Leave of Court of Appeals but Not as of Right, Aug. 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, Appealable Issues/Orders, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Illinois Supreme Court Announces State Common Law and Statutory Issue Preclusion Protections Exceed Federal Double Jeopardy Protections, Holding Currier v. Virginia Does Not Constrain Illinois’s Independent Doctrine, July 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Qualifying Offenses, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Child Pornography.
• Indiana Supreme Court Clarifies “Single Statutory Offense” for Substantive Double Jeopardy Analysis, Holding Powell Test Governs Multiple Convictions Under Elevated Forms of Common Base Offense, April 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, Kidnapping, Abduction or Unlawful Restraint, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Statement of Reasons, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts.
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Amending Indictment to Change Subsections of Aggravated Child Rape Statute Constitutes an Impermissible Substantive Amendment, April 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, Constitution, state, Criminal Sexual Abuse, Essential Elements of Crime, Amendment/Variance.
• Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Double Jeopardy Analysis for Multiple Assault Convictions, Holding That Assaultive Acts Occurring Over Short Time Period in Same Location Without Intervening Events Constitute Single Course of Conduct, March 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts.
• SCOTUS Announces Single Act Violating Both 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and 924(j) May Result in Only One Conviction, Ruling Congress Did Not Clearly Express Intent to Overcome Blockburger Presumption Against Cumulative Punishment for Same Offense, Feb. 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, Gun Laws/Crimes, Sentences - Authorized, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
• California Supreme Court Announces Single Criminal Act Harming Multiple Victims Constitutes Only One Strike Under Three Strikes Law, Jan. 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, Three Strikes Statutes/Rule, Sentencing Goals/Purposes/Practices, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration.
• First Circuit: District Court Abused Discretion by Sua Sponte Raising Statute of Limitations Defense to Habeas Petition After Respondents Had Intelligently “Waived” It by Being Aware of Availability but Failing to Assert It, Nov. 15, 2025. Defenses, Limitations, Habeas Corpus, Double jeopardy, Knowingly and Intelligently.