More from this issue:

1. Prosecutorial Extortion: Alleged Drug Dealer Agrees to $300,000 Seizure in Face of Charges Threatened Against Entire Family, by David Reutter
2. Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Government Failed to Meet Its Burden to Support Uncharged Drug Quantity Under Rule 32, by Douglas Ankney
3. Drug Detection Dogs Are Unreliable and Reflect the Vicious Heritage of Their Slave-Hunting Dog and Police-Dog Predecessors, by Matthew Clarke
4. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Prejudice Standard for IAC Based on Faulty Probation Eligibility Advice Is an Effect on Defendant’s Decision Making, Not Different Outcome, by Mark Wilson
5. Everybody’s Guilty: To the Police State, We’re All Criminals Until We Prove Otherwise, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
6. Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Reasonable Likelihood’ Framework for Determining Whether Trial Court’s Comments to Prospective Jurors Lowered Prosecution’s Burden of Proof, by Douglas Ankney
7. Iowa Supreme Court: Warrantless Entry Into Home for Misdemeanor Arrest Violates Both U.S. and Iowa Constitutions and Requires Suppression of Evidence, by Mark Wilson
8. Police Often Use ‘Cover Charges’ to Mask False Arrests and Police Brutality, by Casey Bastian
9. Eighth Circuit: Government Breached Plea Agreement by Relying on Pre-Plea Conduct to Dispute Acceptance of Responsibility Despite Acknowledging Defendant Qualified for Credit in Agreement, by Richard Resch
10. California Supreme Court Announces Uncharged Lesser Firearm Enhancement May Be Substituted Under § 12022.53, by Mark Wilson
11. California Court of Appeal: Gang Enhancements Remanded for Retrial Under AB 333; Sameness Requirement Satisfied
12. Maryland Court of Appeals: Kazadi Applies to Cases Where Issue Was Preserved at Trial but Appeal Not Yet Noted at Time Kazadi Decided, by Douglas Ankney
13. Third Circuit Suppresses Evidence Found After Police Created Safety Concern to Justify Prolonging Traffic Stop, by Anthony Accurso
14. California Supreme Court Announces Conspiracy to Commit Home Invasion Robbery Not Subject to Enhancement to Indeterminate Life Sentence Under Penal Code § 186.22(b)(4), by Matthew Clarke
15. Fifth Circuit: District Court Miscalculated Sentencing Guidelines Range by Implausibly Finding Defendant Would Use All Cash Proceeds of Drug Sales Seized to Purchase More Meth to Resell, by Douglas Ankney
16. Commentary: Exploring Implications of the Supreme Court’s Expansion of Second Amendment Rights, by Professor Douglas A. Berman
17. Third Circuit: District Court’s Focus on Substance of Defendant’s Meritless Arguments in Denying Request to Represent Himself Resulted in Inadequate Inquiry Prior to Denial in Violation of Sixth Amendment, by Matthew Clarke
18. Fourth Circuit: South Carolina Marijuana Law Not a Categorical Match to Federal Law for ACCA Sentencing, by David Reutter
19. Hawai’i Supreme Court Holds Randomness and Violent Nature of Crime Alone Insufficient to Establish Exigent Circumstances for Warrantless Entry Into Suspect’s Home, by Anthony Accurso
20. Tenth Circuit: Guilty Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Because Sentencing Court Failed to Ask Follow Up Questions After Defendant Said He’s Off His Medication and ‘Mind Isn’t Right’, by David Reutter
21. Sixth Circuit: COA Not Required to Appeal Order Denying Rule 4(a)(5) Motion for Extension of Time to File Notice of Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
22. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies Ex Post Facto Analysis Focuses on When, Not Where, Crime Occurred and Does Not Require Showing of Disadvantage to Defendant, by Douglas Ankney
23. Inflation Transforming Petty Offenses Into Felonies, by Douglas Ankney
24. The War in Ukraine Raises Awareness About Secure Communications During a Crisis, by Douglas Ankney
25. Ohio Justice Calls for Plea Bargaining Reform to End ‘Sentencing by Ambush’, by David Reutter
26. Your Data Is For Sale and Anonymization Is Meaningless, by Anthony Accurso
27. NYPD Continues Its Longstanding Tradition of Thwarting Misconduct Investigations and Evading Accountability, by Douglas Ankney
28. Michigan Supreme Court Announces Punishment for Second-Degree Murder and Involuntary Manslaughter When Based on Same Conduct Violates Prohibition Against Double Jeopardy, by Anthony Accurso
29. FBI’s ‘Rich Neighborhood’ Breach Practice, by Jayson Hawkins
30. Nebraska Company Providing Digital Wiretaps of Messaging Platforms to Law Enforcement Agencies, by Anthony Accurso
31. Quattrone Center Reveals Lack of Transparency Concerning Prosecutorial Misconduct Claims Report identifies over 7,000 instances of state attorney conduct that ‘did not comport’ with ethical, procedural, or legal rules, by Casey Bastian
32. Chicago PD Emphasizing Facial Recognition for Investigations, by Anthony Accurso
33. Border Patrol Agents Track and Spy on U.S. Journalists and Unidentified Members of Congress, by Douglas Ankney
34. Illinois Limits Police Access to Data Stored by Third Parties, by Anthony Accurso
35. Maine’s Law Enforcement Agencies, Like Those of Most States, Don’t Track Complaints Against Police Officers, by Douglas Ankney
36. ‘Freedom Commons Academy’ Provides Former Prisoners Housing and Structured Re-entry Services in Syracuse, by Casey Bastian
37. Prosecutor’s Sentencing Message to Defendant: Insist on Trial, Pay with Your Liberty, by David Reutter
38. News in Brief

More from Matthew Clarke:

• Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
• Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
• New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
• DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
• Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
• Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
• Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
• California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
• SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Alternative Sentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts, Drug Quantity.
• Colorado DOC Allows Some Prisoners Convicted of Sex Crimes to be Released While Delaying Parole Consideration for Others, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Overcrowding, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Sex Offender Treatment, De Facto Life Sentence.
• First Circuit Vacates Drug Courier’s Sentence, Holding District Court Erred by Failing to Conduct Proper Comparative Culpability Analysis Under § 3B1.2 When It Excluded Other Participants in Drug Shipment From Universe of Comparators, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review, Sentencing Findings, Relevant Conduct.
• Sixth Circuit Announces Federal Coercion and Enticement Statute Requires Knowledge of Victim’s Minor Status, Deepening Circuit Split, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
• 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.
• U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
• Maine Was the First State to Abolish Parole. Incarcerated Mainers, Advocates Hope to Bring it Back., March 1, 2026. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, De Facto Life Sentence.
• Acquitted Conduct Sentencing: Not Guilty – But Punished Anyway, March 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Federal Legislation, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts.
• 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.
• First Circuit Clarifies Mitigating Role Analysis – Sentencing Courts Must Consider All Identifiable Participants in Drug Shipment, Not Just Crew Members, and Use § 3B1.2 Factors to Assess Relative Culpability, Not Guilt, Dec. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.