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The Blue Wall of Silence: Law Enforcement Whistleblowers Face Severe Retaliation
by Casey J. Bastian
Many Americans have heard the term “whistleblower.” Someone who is willing to reveal something covert or corrupt or who informs against another. Ostensibly lauded, such people willing to take a principled stand frequently face tremendous retribution from those being exposed. In one profession in …
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More from this issue:
- Government Snitches Rake in Millions as Their Testimony Is the Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions, by Jacob Barrett, Dale Chappell
- California Court of Appeal Vacates Conviction Because Generic Immigration Consequences Warning Insufficient for Defendant to Understand Mandatory Immigration Consequences as a Result of Guilty Plea, by David Reutter
- The FBI’s Gestapo Tactics: Hallmarks of an Authoritarian Regime, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
- California Court of Appeal: Defendant’s ‘Novel Interpretation’ of Pen. Code § 1203.01 Entitles Him to Have Trial Court Consider Motion to Correct Post-Judgment Record 40 Years After Conviction Final, by Douglas Ankney
- SCOTUS Announces Government Must Prove Physicians in § 841 Prosecutions ‘Knowingly and Intentionally’ Exceeded Their Authorization to Prescribe Controlled Substances, Such as Opioids, by Harold Hempstead
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Warrant to Search Cellphone Must Establish Nexus Between Device and Offense Beyond ‘Boilerplate’ Language About Cellphones Being Ubiquitous and Used in Crimes, by Anthony Accurso
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Medical ‘Rule-Out Questions’ Prior to Field Sobriety Test Are Interrogation Triggering Miranda Requirements, by Anthony Accurso
- New Jersey Supreme Court Orders New Trial Because Detective Failed to Clarify Suspect’s Ambiguous Request for Counsel During Interrogation, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Announces First Step Act Applies Retroactively to Defendant Whose Pre-Act Sentence Vacated After Act’s Enactment, by Harold Hempstead
- Fifth Circuit: New, Retroactive Supreme Court Decision Allowing SOS Habeas Petition Not New Enough to Avoid Procedural-Default Bar, by Dale Chappell
- SCOTUS: § 1983 Claim Cannot Be Based on Violation of Miranda Because Not Tantamount to Violation of Fifth Amendment, by Harold Hempstead
- Fifth Circuit: Officer’s Testimony About CI’s Controlled Buy That He Did Not Personally Witness Violates Confrontation Clause, by Mark Wilson
- SCOTUS Refuses to Extend Bivens Remedy to Either First Amendment Retaliation Claim or Fourth Amendment Excessive-Force Claim, by Dale Chappell
- Tech Giants Support Ban on Geofence and Reverse Keyword Warrants, by Anthony Accurso
- Seventh Circuit: Federal Habeas Corpus – AEDPA Time Limit Opens Door for Savings Clause Relief, by Dale Chappell
- Ohio Supreme Court: Amendment to Statute That Shifts Burden of Proof to State Regarding Self-Defense Applies to All Pending and New Trials After Effective Date, Regardless of When Alleged Crime Occurred, by Douglas Ankney
- New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Judicial Misconduct May Bar Retrial Under Double Jeopardy Clause of State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
- USSC Report Highlights Problems with Sentencing in Child Porn Cases, by Dale Chappell
- California Court of Appeal Announces Term ‘Actual Killer’ in Revised Felony-Murder Statute Refers to Person Who ‘Personally Killed’ Victim, Not Necessarily Same as Person Who ‘Caused’ Death, for Resentencing Purposes Under § 1170.95, by Matthew Clarke
- Forensic Psychiatrist Questions the Value of Memory, by Jayson Hawkins
- The Blue Wall of Silence: Law Enforcement Whistleblowers Face Severe Retaliation, by Casey Bastian
- Fourth Amendment Loopholes and the PATRIOT Act’s Legacy, by Anthony Accurso
- FBI Phone Hack May Have Monitored Americans in Operation Trojan Shield, by Jayson Hawkins
- Psychological Repercussions of Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
- Chicago PD Is Spying on Social Media Using Fake Profiles Provided by the FBI, by Anthony Accurso
- Study Shows Crime Reduced When Crisis Teams, as Opposed to Police, Respond to Low-Level Crimes, by Jacob Barrett
- Understanding Environmental Effects on Blowflies Permits Fine-Tuning of Evidence Revealed From Fly Colonization of Decomposing Bodies, by Douglas Ankney
- News in Brief
More from Casey Bastian:
- California Prisoners Sue Gynecologist for Sexual Abuse, Aug. 1, 2025
- Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, May 15, 2025
- Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Rise of Mass Supervision: From Rehabilitative Alternative to Shadow Carceral State, Oct. 1, 2024
- Demonstrable Remorse, Psychiatric Diagnoses, and Alternatives to Incarceration, Aug. 1, 2024
- Minnesota Sex Offender Program: The Indefinite Detention of the Reviled, Aug. 1, 2024
- The 153 Exonerations in 2023 Include 19 Resulting From Threats or Sentences of Death, July 15, 2024
- Four Dead in One Month in San Bernardino County Jails, $3,232,500 in Settlements Paid So Far, March 1, 2024
- Dangerous Encounters: Interactions Between Autistic Individuals and Law Enforcement, Dec. 15, 2023
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-2022, Oct. 1, 2023
More from these topics:
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $45 Million Verdict for Wrongfully Convicted Former Ohio Prisoner, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Two Exonerated Illinois Prisoners Win Settlements Totaling $14.5 Million, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Wrongful Conviction Claim of Exonerated Maryland Prisoner, State Pays Him $3.1 Million, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Assault by Police, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Stun Guns/Tasers, Immigration, False Arrest, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- Arkansas Ex-Police Chief Known as “Devil in the Ozarks” Re-Captured After Prison Escape, July 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Escapes.
- How Police Departments Hire Bad Cops: The Shadow System Protecting ‘Wandering Officers’, July 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Connecticut Compensates Exonerated Prisoners, Reforms Policing, April 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Settlements, Wrongful Conviction.
- Questionable Retail Theft Panic Fuels More Mass Surveillance and Police Militarization, April 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Fraud and Theft Loss.
- California Police Misused State Databases Over 7,000 Times in 2023, March 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Databases.
- Shakedown in New Mexico: Decades-Long Police Corruption Scandal Rocks Albuquerque’s DWI Unit, March 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Bribery, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.





