More from this issue:

1. The Real Minority Report Predictive Policing Algorithms Reflect Racial Bias Present in Corrupted Historic Databases, by Matthew Clarke
2. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Premature Sex Offender Classification of Incarcerated Offender Who Accepted Classification Violates Procedural Due Process, by Douglas Ankney
3. Tenth Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for Prosecutor Alleged to Have Fabricated Evidence, Despite no Previous Case with Materially Similar Facts, by Douglas Ankney
4. California Supreme Court: Furnishing Drugs Resulting in Overdose Death Does Not Automatically Trigger Great Bodily Injury Enhancement, by Dale Chappell
5. Hawaii Supreme Court Announces Five-Factor Test in Determining Whether There’s ‘Fair and Just Reason’ to Withdraw Plea, by David Reutter
6. Seventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Denying Compassionate Release Motion by Limiting ‘Extraordinary and Compelling’ Analysis to USSG § 1B1.13, by Dale Chappell
7. Anger: A Natural Reaction That Makes the Innocent Appear Guilty, by Jayson Hawkins
8. An Inside Look at Operation Trojan Shield How the FBI Crafted an International Encrypted Messaging Sting, by Jayson Hawkins
9. Tenth Circuit Announces Adoption of ‘Offense of Conviction Approach’ for Determining Sentence Reduction Under First Step Act § 404(b), by Dale Chappell
10. Kansas Supreme Court Affirms Reversal and Dismissal of Murder Charges Based on Speedy Trial Violation, by Douglas Ankney
11. Arizona Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Have Discretion to Deny State’s Request for SVP Screening and Provides Guidance to Courts Exercising That Discretion, by Douglas Ankney
12. Arizona Supreme Court Clarifies Proper Fundamental Error Review Applicable to Allegation of a Single, Unobjected-to Instance of Prosecutorial Misconduct, by Douglas Ankney
13. Study: Bloodstain Pattern Analyses Display Alarming Lack of Accuracy, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
14. SCOTUS Holds Ramos’ Unanimous Jury Requirement Is New Procedural Rule and Announces No New Procedural Rule Applies Retroactively on Federal Collateral Review, by Dale Chappell
15. Second Circuit: Autopsy Report Is ‘Testimonial’ for Confrontation Clause Purposes, Habeas Relief Granted, by Dale Chappell
16. Ohio, Now 24th State to End LWOP for Juveniles, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
17. Current Forensic Sciences Not as Objective as Most Believe, by Edward Lyon
18. "Eighth Circuit: Government Breached Plea Agreement by Endorsing PSR’s Calculation of Higher Base Offense Level Than Plea Agreement, Curing Breach Not Recognized in Circuit", by David Reutter
19. Justice Department Orders All Federal Agents to Wear Body Cameras, by Chuck Sharman
20. DNA Standards Often Make the Difference Between Life and Death, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
21. Georgia Supreme Court Announces Merger Error Claims During Sentencing May Be Raised for First Time in Habeas Petition, by Anthony Accurso
22. Justice Department Bans Chokeholds and Restricts No-Knock Entries for Federal Agents, by Chuck Sharman
23. Ninth Circuit Announces All 3 Subsections Must Be Satisfied to Deny Safety-Valve Relief Under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1), by Dale Chappell
24. Experts Agree: Police Public Relations Consistently Mislead the Public, by Jayson Hawkins
25. Study Shows Public Defenders Outperform Court Appointed Private Attorneys, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
26. Investigative Report Highlights Difficulties in Disciplining Cops, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
27. Florida’s Worst Cop Fired for 7th Time, by Jayson Hawkins
28. Police Do Not Want to Pay for Damage They Inflicted to Texas Home, by Kevin Bliss
29. California Supreme Court Announces Predicate Offenses for Gang Enhancement or Gang Participation Not Provable Using Expert Witness Testimony Without Personal Knowledge of Facts, by Matthew Clarke
30. SCOTUS Reinstates Death Sentence Reversed by Eleventh Circuit, by Matthew Clarke
31. NYC’s Stop-and-Frisk Still Targets Based on Race, by Jayson Hawkins
32. 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:

• SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Disparities Created by Nonretroactive Statutory Amendments Cannot Constitute Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons for Compassionate Release, June 1, 2026. First Step Act, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentencing Disparity, Compassionate Release.
• Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, June 1, 2026. Release and Reentry, Habeas Corpus, First Step Act, Community Confinement/Home Detention, Credits.
• Fourth Circuit to BOP Prisoner: Any “Disqualifying Offense” Means Zero FSA Credits, April 1, 2026. First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Credits, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
• Six Years of the First Step Act: Federal Prison Data Reveal Treatment Gains, Persistent Disparities, and Unanswered Questions, April 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Systemic Medical Neglect, First Step Act, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
• Fourth Circuit Holds Federal Prisoner Does Not Earn First Step Act Time Credits While in Transit Between Prisons, March 1, 2026. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Credits.
• Eighth Circuit Announces Presidential Commutation Does Not Moot Challenge to Underlying Sentence, Jan. 1, 2026. Pardons/Clemency, First Step Act, Qualifying Offenses, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• BOP Announces New Conditional Placement Date Calculation, Jan. 1, 2026. First Step Act, halfway houses, Community Confinement/Home Detention, Credits, Prison Classification.
• Third Circuit Rules Awarding BOP Prisoners 54 Days of Good Time Per Year Is Pro-­Rated, Jan. 1, 2026. Good Time, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Credits.
• SCOTUS Overturns Oklahoma Prisoner’s Death Sentence After More than 25 Years on Death Row, Nov. 1, 2025. Ex Post Facto, Good Time, Wrongful Conviction, Habeas Corpus, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency, First Step Act, Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA), Specific Offenses, Controlled Substances, Weapons, Accuracy of Information, Depraved Indifference Murder, Evidence - Circumstantial, Theft, Failure to Disclose, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, New Trial - Motions for, Pleas Linked to Cooperation, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of, Selective Prosecution/Enforcement, Improper Comments, Official Report, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence, Exculpatory Evidence - Disclosure Obligations.
• Fourth Circuit Rules in Favor of Prisoner’s Eligibility for Time Credits, Nov. 1, 2025. Good Time, Habeas Corpus, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Death/Bodily Injury, Sentencing Findings.