More from this issue:

1. Government Snitches Rake in Millions as Their Testimony Is the Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions, by Jacob Barrett, Dale Chappell
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 John W. Whitehead, Nisha 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. Third Circuit Announces First Step Act Applies Retroactively to Defendant Whose Pre-Act Sentence Vacated After Act’s Enactment, by Harold Hempstead
10. Fifth Circuit: New, Retroactive Supreme Court Decision Allowing SOS Habeas Petition Not New Enough to Avoid Procedural-Default Bar, by Dale Chappell
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 Douglas Ankney:

• The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026
• California Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-Circumstances Framework Focused on Defendant’s Subjective Understanding Under § 1473.7(a)(1), Holding Immigration Consequences Advisement Is Relevant but Not Dispositive, Oct. 1, 2026
• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Conflicting Affidavits About Plea Acceptance Require Evidentiary Hearing on Ineffective-Assistance Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Vacates Award of Costs to Prison Officials, Revives Prisoner’s Claim Alleging Denial of Access to Functioning Toilets and Exposure to Other Prisoners’ Feces, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions, Holding Requirement That Defendant Testify Before Displaying Hand Tattoos Violates Fifth Amendment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026
• Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Iowa Department of Corrections Settles Lawsuit and Agrees to Implement More Reliable Drug Testing Procedures and Fair Disciplinary Proceeding Policies, Oct. 1, 2026. Liberty Interests, Evidence, Drug Testing, Settlements, Burden of Proof.
• $4,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Requests, Oct. 1, 2026. Damages, Retroactivity, Public Records Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Federal Habeas Quick Reference Guide for State Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Cause and Prejudice.
• Michigan Supreme Court Announces Betts Decision Invalidating 2011 SORA as Ex Post Facto Punishment Applies Retroactively to Defendants on Collateral Review, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Retroactivity, Ex Post Facto, Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law.
• California Supreme Court Announces Amended § 1170(b) Applies Retroactively to Plea-Bargained Upper Term Sentences, July 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Sixth Amendment, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Grounds For Withdrawal, Validity of.
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Adoption of Transferred Intent Self-­Defense, Jan. 1, 2026. Murder/Felony Murder, Burden of Proof, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
• California Supreme Court Announces Pre-2009 Provocative Act Murder Convictions Are Not Categorically Ineligible for Resentencing Under § 1172.6, Dec. 15, 2025. Jury Instructions, Retroactivity, Murder/Felony Murder, Accessories and Accomplices.
• California Supreme Court Announces Judgment Not Considered Final Under Estrada for Retroactive Application of Amended Gang Enhancement Statute When Conviction Affirmed on Appeal but Sentencing Issues Remain Pending Following Remand, Oct. 15, 2025. Retroactivity, Essential Elements of Crime, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Authority and Jurisdiction, Remands/Rehearings/Resentencings.
• SCOTUS Announces Sentence ‘Has Not Been Imposed’ 
for Purposes of First Step Act Retroactivity Upon Resentencing When § 924(c) Offender Sentenced Prior to Act’s Enactment 
but Sentence Subsequently Vacated, Aug. 1, 2025. Retroactivity, First Step Act, Resentencing, Recidivist Enhancements, Stacking Mandatory Minimum Sentences.
• Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Teague’s ‘Watershed’ Rule Exception to Nonretroactivity of New Constitutional Rule of Criminal Procedure on Collateral Review Has ‘Continued Vitality’ in Connecticut, Adoption of Third Exception to Teague’s Nonretroacti, April 15, 2025. Retroactivity, Criminal Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Eyewitness Identification.