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 Anthony Accurso:

• The Systematic Terror of Rankin County’s “Goon Squad”, May 1, 2026
• Virginia Prisoners Stuck Waiting for Education Programs, Feb. 1, 2026
• $939,000 for Nevada Prisoner Left in Wheelchair by Delayed Back Pain Treatment, Jan. 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Plea Agreement’s Factual Basis, Holding Unaccepted “Type A” Plea Agreement Unenforceable to Trigger Waiver of Rule 410 Protections, Dec. 15, 2025
• America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025
• Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, Nov. 1, 2025
• Protecting Your Digital Privacy, Oct. 15, 2025
• Idaho Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search of Civilly Committed Individual Violates Fourth Amendment, Oct. 15, 2025
• Michigan Supreme Court Announces Guidance on Standards for Search Warrants of Cellphones to Satisfy Particularity Requirement of Fourth Amendment That “Reasonably Direct” Search to Uncovering Evidence of Criminal Activity Identified in Warrant, Oct. 15, 2025
• Sixth Circuit: Erlinger Error Requires Resentencing Where Government Cannot Prove Beyond Reasonable Doubt That Jury Would Find Prior Offenses Committed on Different “Occasions”, Oct. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• Fourth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity in Strip Searches Resulting from Anonymous Tips, Sept. 1, 2026. Strip Searches, Qualified Immunity, Fourth Amendment, rights, Suspicionless Searches.
• Oklahoma Jail Closes After $2.55 Million Payout for Retaliatory Strip Search, July 1, 2026. Retaliation, Strip Searches, Monell Liability, Wrongful Use of Force, Suspicionless Searches.
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Framework for Evaluating Delayed Traffic Stops Under Article 14, Holding 24-Hour Gap Between Observed Infraction and Vehicle Stop Was Unreasonable, June 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, State Constitutional Claims, Seizure, Pretextual Stops, Traffic Stops.
• Fourth Circuit Holds Officer’s Firearms Questioning at Outset of Traffic Stop Exceeded Permissible Scope Where Officer Abandoned Stop’s Purpose From Inception and Totality of Circumstances Did Not Support Officer-Safety Justification, May 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, Reasonable Suspicion, Traffic Stops, Suppression, Scope of Permissible Searches.
• Washington Supreme Court Announces Race and Ethnicity Are Relevant Factors Courts May Consider When Applying the Totality of the Circumstances Test for Determining Whether Suspect Is “In Custody” for Miranda Purposes, Feb. 1, 2026. Community Caretaking Exception/Doctrine, Traffic Stops, Self-Incrimination Clause, Custodial Interrogations, In Custody.
• Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Police Officer’s Observation of Driver Manipulating Cellphone Screen Does Not, Without Additional Facts, Establish Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Under Fourth Amendment, Feb. 1, 2026. Cell-Phones, Motions To Suppress, Reasonable Suspicion, Traffic Stops, Terry Stops.
• DHS Has Been Quietly Collecting DNA From U.S. Citizens for Years, Funneling It Into FBI’s CODIS Without Oversight, Oct. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, Police State-Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Police/Govt Misconduct, Suspicionless Searches.
• Idaho Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search of Civilly Committed Individual Violates Fourth Amendment, Oct. 15, 2025. Civil Commitment, Exclusionary Rule, Pat Down Searches, Scope of Permissible Searches, Suspicionless Searches.
• California Court of Appeal Issues Writ of Mandate 
Directing Superior Court to Hold Evidentiary Hearing 
Under State’s Racial Justice Act, Ruling Defendant 
Provided Sufficient Evidence to Establish Prima Facie 
Claim of Implicit Bias by San Diego Police, July 1, 2025. Racial Bias, Traffic Stops, Evidence - Admissibility.
• Rhode Island Supreme Court: Officer Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Terry Stop Based on Unsubstantiated, Anonymous Tip, Dec. 1, 2024. Scope of Permissible Searches, Suspicionless Searches.