More from this issue:

1. The Business of Dying: Coroners, Medical Examiners, and the Crisis of Death Investigations in the United States, by Benjamin Tschirhart
2. Wisconsin Supreme Court: Riding Same Make of Motorcycle as Reported by Police Speeding and Driving Erratically Does Not Constitute Reasonable Suspicion to Initiate Traffic Stop, by Anthony Accurso
3. Fifth Circuit Announces Altered Serial Number Enhancement Does Not Apply Where Gun Never Had Serial Number, by Richard Resch
4. Police Killings Reach Record High – But Also Lower than Ever Before, by Benjamin Tschirhart
5. Computing Fear in Black and Brown Communities, by Michael Thompson
6. How Junk Science Helped Kill Tyre Nichols, by Eike Blohm, MD
7. Ohio Supreme Court Holds Termination of Community Control Is Final Discharge for Purposes of Sealing Records and Terminates Unsatisfied Condition to Pay Child-Support Arrearages, by Matthew Clarke
8. Eighth Circuit: Defendant Facing Revocation of Supervised Release Did Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Waive Right to Counsel Where Appointed Counsel Admittedly Knew Nothing About Case and Advised Choosing Between ‘Big House or the Nut House’, by Mark Wilson
9. First Circuit Vacates Sentence Containing 20-Year Upward Variance Because District Court Failed to Provide Case-Specific Factors or Rationale for Such a Large Variance, by Richard Resch
10. Idaho Supreme Court: Drug-Detection Dog Conducted Warrantless Search by Placing Paws on Exterior of Vehicle to Sniff for Drugs, by Richard Resch
11. Vermont Supreme Court Announces ‘Pinging’ Cellphone to Obtain Real-Time CSLI Constitutes a Search Requiring a Warrant or Recognized Exception, by Richard Resch
12. Georgia Supreme Court: Trial Courts Are Bound to Follow Precedent of Court of Appeals, by Harold Hempstead
13. A Brief History of K-9 Units in Law Enforcement, by Kevin Bliss
14. Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
15. New York State’s Veterans Treatment Courts, by Edward Lyon
16. Police Violence Ignored When It Fails to Support the Media’s Ideological Bias, by Richard Resch, Benjamin Tschirhart
17. Arizona Wants to TRAC Your Financial Transactions, by Michael Thompson
18. How Minneapolis Uses Controversial Technology to Spy on Its Citizens, by Michael Thompson
19. Seventh Circuit Vacates Federal Drug Conspiracy Conviction Because District Court Failed to Ensure Defendant Understood ‘Agreement’ Element of Conspiracy and Failed to Ensure Factual Basis for Guilty Plea, by Mark Wilson
20. California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Erred by Concluding Senate Bill 1393 Does Not Apply to Cases Already Final on Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
21. The FBI Used an Undercover Cop With Pink Hair to Spy on Activists and Manufacture Crimes, by Trevor Aaronson
22. Hawaii Supreme Court: Plain Error Not Providing ‘Incidental Restraint’ Jury Instruction Where Kidnapping Only Charge After Dismissing Abuse Charges Prior to Trial, by Mark Wilson
23. Ohio Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of ‘Outcome Determinative’ in Context of Motion for Postconviction DNA Testing, by Douglas Ankney
24. Seventh Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Address Nonfrivolous Argument Raised in First Step Act Motion Constitutes Procedural Error in Violation of Concepcion, by Douglas Ankney
25. Tenth Circuit Deepens Circuit Split on Whether District Courts May Consider ‘Retribution’ in Deciding Whether to Revoke Supervised Release, Ruling It Is an Impermissible Factor to Consider, by Richard Resch
26. Supervised Release and the Erosion of Due Process Protection, by Benjamin Tschirhart
27. Houston Prosecutors Profit Millions From Cash Illegally Seized, by Jacob Barrett
28. California Supreme Court Announces Government’s Continuing Brady Obligations and Ethical Duty of Disclosure During Habeas Proceedings Regarding Alleged Exculpatory Evidence Available at Time of Trial but Suppressed, by Richard Resch
29. Beware of Smart Devices That Infringe on Your Privacy, by Casey Bastian
30. News in Brief
31. California Court Rejects Geofence Warrant, by Anthony Accurso

More from Richard Resch:

• From the Editor Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Holdings and Dicta*, March 15, 2025
• From the Editor, Dec. 15, 2024
• New York Court of Appeals Overturns Harvey Weinstein’s Convictions Based on Trial Court Rulings That Admitted Prejudicial ‘Prior Bad Acts’ Into Evidence and Violated His Right to Testify in His Own Defense, June 15, 2024
• SCOTUS: Reiterates Jury Verdict of Acquittal for Any Reason Bars Retrial Under Double Jeopardy Clause of Fifth Amendment, May 15, 2024
• Fourth Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Discovery and Evidentiary Hearing on § 2255 Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea Because It Was Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Made, March 15, 2024
• New York Court of Appeals Announces Traffic Stop of Bicyclist Is Seizure Under Both Fourth Amendment and State Constitution Requiring Reasonable Suspicion of Crime or Probable Cause of Traffic Violation, March 15, 2024
• First Circuit Announces It Has Authority to Raise Claim of Error Sua Sponte for Violation of ‘Mandate Rule’ by Sentenc-ing Court on Remand, Jan. 15, 2024
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Application of ‘Estoppel’ in Plea Bargain Context and Holds Trial Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Revoke Community Supervision After Statutory Term Expired, Dec. 15, 2023
• Seventh Circuit Announces Procedures for Addressing ‘Facially Questionable Warrant’ Due to ‘Material Handwritten Alterations’ Unsigned or Initialed by Issuing Judge, Dec. 15, 2023
• Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Self-Serving Hearsay’ Statements Introduced Under Rule of Completeness Not Hearsay and Do Not Render Defendant Impeachable, Nov. 1, 2023

More from these topics:

• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces State Wiretap Statute Requires Suppression of Both Audio and Video Components of Audiovisual Footage of Unlawfully Intercepted Oral Communication Showing Defendant as Party to Communication, March 15, 2025. Videotaping, Wiretap Evidence, Suppression.
• Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty, Feb. 15, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Exculpatory No Doctrine, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Ninth Circuit: Defense Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Move to Suppress Evidence Obtained as a Result of Police Officer Trespassing on Curtilage of Defendant’s Home, Feb. 1, 2025. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Motions To Suppress, Searches - Home/Curtilage, Suppression.
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Habeas Relief in ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case, Feb. 1, 2025. junk science, Habeas Corpus, Forensic Sciences, Child Abuse/Abusers, Evidence - Admissibility.
• California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025. Settlements, Habeas Corpus, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail.
• 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. Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Constitutional Challenges/Law.
• Ninth Circuit Holds District Courts Have No Authority Under Rule 4 of Rules Governing § 2254 Cases to Dismiss Habeas Petition on the Merits, Dec. 15, 2024. Habeas Corpus, Dismissal, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• Ninth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to California Prisoner on Napue Claim Because Prosecution Failed to Correct Informant’s False Testimony That He Did Not Receive Any Benefit In Exchange for His Testimony, Dec. 1, 2024. Informants, Habeas Corpus, Informants and Paid Witnesses, False Testimony.
• Public Defender Files Habeas Petitions for Detainees at “Horrific” Baltimore Lockup, Nov. 15, 2024. Failure to Treat, Conditions of Confinement, Hygiene Supplies, Disclosure of Records, Habeas Corpus.
• Ninth Circuit Denies Habeas Relief to Prisoner Who Invoked Fifth Amendment Right to Counsel During Custodial Interrogation but Made Incriminating Statements to Undercover Informant Posing as Fellow Prisoner Because Right to Counsel Not Violated, Nov. 1, 2024. Habeas Corpus, Custodial Interrogations/Statements, Counsel - Right to.