More from this issue:

1. Government Snitches Rake in Millions as Their Testimony Is the Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions, by Dale Chappell, Jacob Barrett
2. 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
3. The FBI’s Gestapo Tactics: Hallmarks of an Authoritarian Regime, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Medical ‘Rule-Out Questions’ Prior to Field Sobriety Test Are Interrogation Triggering Miranda Requirements, by Anthony Accurso
8. New Jersey Supreme Court Orders New Trial Because Detective Failed to Clarify Suspect’s Ambiguous Request for Counsel During Interrogation, by Douglas Ankney
9. Fifth Circuit: New, Retroactive Supreme Court Decision Allowing SOS Habeas Petition Not New Enough to Avoid Procedural-Default Bar, by Dale Chappell
10. Third Circuit Announces First Step Act Applies Retroactively to Defendant Whose Pre-Act Sentence Vacated After Act’s Enactment, by Harold Hempstead
11. SCOTUS: § 1983 Claim Cannot Be Based on Violation of Miranda Because Not Tantamount to Violation of Fifth Amendment, by Harold Hempstead
12. Fifth Circuit: Officer’s Testimony About CI’s Controlled Buy That He Did Not Personally Witness Violates Confrontation Clause, by Mark Wilson
13. SCOTUS Refuses to Extend Bivens Remedy to Either First Amendment Retaliation Claim or Fourth Amendment Excessive-Force Claim, by Dale Chappell
14. Tech Giants Support Ban on Geofence and Reverse Keyword Warrants, by Anthony Accurso
15. Seventh Circuit: Federal Habeas Corpus – AEDPA Time Limit Opens Door for Savings Clause Relief, by Dale Chappell
16. 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
17. New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Judicial Misconduct May Bar Retrial Under Double Jeopardy Clause of State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
18. USSC Report Highlights Problems with Sentencing in Child Porn Cases, by Dale Chappell
19. 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
20. Forensic Psychiatrist Questions the Value of Memory, by Jayson Hawkins
21. The Blue Wall of Silence: Law Enforcement Whistleblowers Face Severe Retaliation, by Casey Bastian
22. Fourth Amendment Loopholes and the PATRIOT Act’s Legacy, by Anthony Accurso
23. FBI Phone Hack May Have Monitored Americans in Operation Trojan Shield, by Jayson Hawkins
24. Psychological Repercussions of Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
25. Chicago PD Is Spying on Social Media Using Fake Profiles Provided by the FBI, by Anthony Accurso
26. Study Shows Crime Reduced When Crisis Teams, as Opposed to Police, Respond to Low-Level Crimes, by Jacob Barrett
27. Understanding Environmental Effects on Blowflies Permits Fine-Tuning of Evidence Revealed From Fly Colonization of Decomposing Bodies, by Douglas Ankney
28. News in Brief

More from Anthony Accurso:

• D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Feb. 15, 2025
• $220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal, Feb. 15, 2025
• Colorado Supreme Court Holds Defendant Was in ‘Custody’ for Miranda Purposes Because She Had Hands Bagged and Zip Tied, Commanded Not to Remove Them, and Questioned Alone in Interrogation Room With Door Closed, Feb. 15, 2025
• First Circuit Holds No Emergency-Aid Exception to Warrant Requirement Where Police Have Information That Subject Is Already Deceased, Feb. 15, 2025
• Police Departments Are Now Using AI to Write Reports, Feb. 15, 2025
• Illinois Supreme Court Announces Odor of Burnt Cannabis Alone Is Insufficient to Establish Probable Cause for a Warrantless Vehicle Search, Feb. 1, 2025
• Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints, Feb. 1, 2025
• Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Relief Where Both Trial and Appellate Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Challenge Indictment for Residential Burglary That Failed to Allege Defendant Illegally Entered a ‘Dwelling’, Jan. 15, 2025
• Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated, Jan. 15, 2025
• Nevada Supreme Court Announces Incorporated Probable Cause Affidavit Cannot Broaden Scope of Warrant’s Description of Places and Persons to be Searched or Items to Be Seized, Dec. 1, 2024

More from these topics:

• California Supreme Court: Presence in High Crime Area and Desire to Avoid Contact With Police Does Not Amount to Reasonable Suspicion Justifying Detention for Suspected Criminal Activity, Aug. 1, 2024. Fourth Amendment, rights, Suspicionless Searches.
• Harris County, Texas, Settles Civil Rights Case for $1.5 Million Brought by Innocent Man Shot in His Home Five Times by Trigger-Happy Deputy, Feb. 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Excessive Force (Police), Fourth Amendment, rights, Police/Govt Misconduct, Monell Liability, Fourth Amendment.
• Fifth Circuit: Placing Jacket Within Fenced-In Area of Home in Presence of Police Evidences Clear Intent Not to Abandon It, Warrantless Search Violates Fourth Amendment Rights, June 15, 2023. Fourth Amendment, rights, Warrantless Searches, Searches - Home/Curtilage, Specific Intent.
• Prison Visitors Have Fourth Amendment Right to Refuse Strip Search and Option to Leave Prison, Dec. 1, 2021. Strip Searches, Visitor Searches, Fourth Amendment, rights.
• Proliferation of Anti-Riot Laws Spurs Nationwide Legal Challenges, Nov. 15, 2021. Patriot Act.
• Revocation Nation: Reincarceration for Technical Parole Violations in the Age of COVID-19, Nov. 15, 2020. Fourth Amendment, rights, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Revocation Proceedings.
• Fourth Circuit: Opening of Detainee’s Legal Mail Outside His Presence Violates Right to Free Speech, Nov. 1, 2020. Legal Mail, Fourth Amendment, rights, Sixth Amendment.
• Congress Unsure of Internet Data Collected by Government as PATRIOT Act Heads for Reauthorization, Aug. 15, 2020. Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, USA Patriot Act.
• Fourth Circuit Requests Further Information on Stingray Device to Determine Whether It Violates Fourth Amendment Rights, July 15, 2020. Fourth Amendment, rights, Stingray.
• Carpenter Slowly Remaking Fourth Amendment Case Law, June 15, 2020. Fourth Amendment, rights, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data.