More from this issue:

1. Felony Murder: The Crotchet of American Murder Jurisprudence, by Douglas Ankney
2. Comply or Die: The Only Truly Compliant Person in a Police State Is a Dead One, by John W. Whitehead
3. Reverse Location Warrants Neglect Particularity Requirement, by Casey Bastian
4. Debunked Bite-Mark Comparison Evidence: Wrongfully Convicted Man Freed After Spending Over 25 Years on Death Row, by Casey Bastian
5. Cops Increasingly Use Amazon Ring to Target Protestors, by Dale Chappell
6. $1.4 Million for Nevada Man Wrongly Imprisoned Over 20 Years, by Dale Chappell
7. New Book Scrutinizes Data-Driven Policing
8. Data: NYPD Still Using Chokeholds Despite Ban, by Kevin Bliss
9. Sixth Circuit Orders New Trial and Reassigns Case to Different Judge Where District Court’s Mishandling Deprived Defendants of Meaningful Opportunity to Prove Juror Bias, by Douglas Ankney
10. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Invalidates Parole Regulation Prohibiting Aggregation of Life Sentences With Consecutive Sentences, by Matthew Clarke
11. Austin, Texas, Diverting Funds From Police to Transform Community, by Edward Lyon
12. It’s Time to Reconsider Consent Searches, by Anthony Accurso
13. Philadelphia’s Progressive Reform-Minded DA Has Made Tremendous Strides – But Are They Enough to Win Reelection?, by Douglas Ankney
14. Study: Reduced Pretrial Incarceration Doesn’t Diminish Public Safety, by Casey Bastian
15. Extreme Prosecutorial Misconduct Results in Wrist Slap, by Edward Lyon
16. When Police Body Cam Is a ‘Propaganda Tool’, by Edward Lyon
17. Internet-Connected Devices and the Fourth Amendment, by Anthony Accurso
18. Are Police Playing Copyrighted Music to Prevent Live Streaming?, by Anthony Accurso
19. Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of ‘Mentally Incapacitated’ Regarding Consent to Sexual Contact, by Douglas Ankney
20. Leaving Digital Trails, by Jayson Hawkins
21. Fourth Circuit: Police Description of ‘More Deliberate’ Second Handshake Than First Handshake Doesn’t Give Rise to Reasonable Suspicion of Drug Transaction Justifying Terry Stop, by Douglas Ankney
22. Tenth Circuit: Firearm Seizure Not Justified After Inventory Search Is Abandoned, by Anthony Accurso
23. Study Shows Innocent People Choose False Guilty Pleas and False Testimony to Gain Benefits, by David Reutter
24. Washington Supreme Court Reaffirms Workman’s Lesser Included Offense Test and Clarifies Confusion in its Application, by Douglas Ankney
25. Report: Police More Aggressive at Leftwing Rallies, by Kevin Bliss
26. Eleventh Circuit: Lawyer’s Purposeful Late Filing of Habeas Petition Grounds for Equitable Tolling, by Dale Chappell
27. Washington Supreme Court Announces State’s Strict-Liability Drug Possession Law Is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
28. California Supreme Court Announces Conditioning Pretrial Release on Ability to Afford Bail Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
29. Ohio Supreme Court: Touching ‘Fog Line’ Doesn’t Justify Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
30. Sixth Circuit Follows Trend of Reigning in Commentary’s Impermissible Expansion of Sentencing Guidelines, by Douglas Ankney
31. Nevada Supreme Court Announces Felon’s Possession of Multiple Firearms at One Time and Place Is Only Single Violation of State Statute, by Douglas Ankney
32. Online Records Impose Digital Punishment for Millions, by Anthony Accurso
33. New Hampshire Supreme Court: Defendant Had Subjective and Objective Expectation of Privacy in Apartment Building’s Utility Closet in Common Areas, Evidence Suppressed, by Anthony Accurso
34. Study: Militarizing Police Doesn’t Shrink Crime Rates, by Jayson Hawkins
35. Georgia Supreme Court: Cumulative Effect of Trial Errors Requires Reversal of Murder Conviction, by Matthew Clarke
36. Fourth Circuit Finally Holds Davis Retroactive, by Dale Chappell
37. The Costs of the War on Drugs, by Jayson Hawkins
38. Tennessee Supreme Court Clarifies Inevitable Discovery Doctrine in Raid of Home to Execute Arrest Warrant, by Anthony Accurso
39. $27 Million Settlement for George Floyd’s Family, by Jayson Hawkins
40. Second Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Police Detaining and Frisking Man Based Solely on Unconfirmed Hunch, by Matthew Clarke
41. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Speculation Insufficient to Trigger ‘Forfeiture by Wrongdoing’ Exception to Confrontation Clause, by Dale Chappell
42. Colorado Supreme Court Suppresses Evidence on Cellphone Obtained Via Invalid Warrant, Not Cured by Obtaining Second Valid Warrant, by Anthony Accurso
43. News in Brief

More from Anthony Accurso:

• 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
• How Nepotism in New York Prisons Cost Prisoners Their Lives, Oct. 1, 2025

More from these topics:

• Fourth Circuit Announces Defendant Has Standing to Appeal Based Solely on Rogers–Singletary Claim of a “Material Discrepancy Between” Written and Orally Articulated Judgment at Sentencing, May 1, 2026. Failure to Object, Appealable Issues/Orders, Warrantless Searches, Reasonable Suspicion, Special Conditions.
• Oregon Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 9, of State Constitution Protects Privacy in Internet Browsing Conducted Over Public Wi-Fi Networks, April 1, 2026. Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance, State Constitutional Claims, Suppression.
• Fifth Circuit Announces Long Vehicle Protective-Search Exception Requires Contemporaneous Facts Demonstrating Third Party’s Potential Dangerousness Before Warrantless Vehicle Search Is Permissible, March 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Exception to Warrant Requirement, Motions To Suppress, Searches - Automobile, Reasonable Suspicion.
• New York Court of Appeals Announces Coercive Police Tactics Compelling Suspect to Exit Home Constitute “Constructive Entry” Violating Payton, Holds Attenuation Analysis Applies to Third-Party Consent, March 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Consent Searches, State Constitutional Claims, Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, Unlawful Entry/Conduct.
• Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Censorship, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance.
• SCOTUS Clarifies Emergency-Aid Home Entries Require Only an “Objectively Reasonable Basis for Believing” an Occupant Faces Serious Danger, Rejecting a Probable-Cause Standard and Montana’s Terry-Like Caretaker Test, Feb. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Probable Cause, Exigent Circumstances, Warrantless Searches, Motions To Suppress.
• Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Buccal Swab Pursuant to Discovery Order Violates Fourth Amendment, Overrules Inevitable Discovery Precedent, and Clarifies Accomplice-Corroboration Statute Applies Only to Sworn Testimony, Dec. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, Warrantless Searches, Good Faith Exception, Hearsay Evidence/Exceptions, Exclusionary Rule.
• New Jersey Supreme Court: Parked Vehicle in Police Parking Lot Not Subject to Warrantless Search Under Automobile Exception Where None of the Exigencies Justifying Exception Under State Constitution Present, Nov. 15, 2025. Exigent Circumstances, Warrantless Searches, Automobile Exception, Exception to Warrant Requirement, State Constitutional Claims.
• Drones and License Plate Readers: Police Creating Warrantless Aerial Surveillance Networks, Oct. 15, 2025. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Warrantless Searches, Curtilege, Electronic Surveillance.
• Illinois Supreme Court Announces Odor of Burnt Cannabis Alone Is Insufficient to Establish Probable Cause for a Warrantless Vehicle Search, Feb. 1, 2025. Vehicle Searches, Probable/Proximate Cause, Warrantless Searches, Marijuana Laws/Issues.