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 Douglas Ankney:

• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, April 15, 2025
• Tenth Circuit Stretches PLRA to Deny Claim of Colorado Prisoner Shot by Guard While Shackled, April 1, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Excuses Maryland Prisoner From Exhaustion Requirement in PREA Claim, April 1, 2025
• 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
• California Court of Appeal Vacates Sentence Where Trial Court Imposed Sentence Under ‘One Strike’ Enhancement Statute Enacted After Crimes Were Committed, March 15, 2025
• Nevada Supreme Court: Theft Offenses and Possessing or Receiving Stolen Property Offenses Are Mutually Exclusive and Double Jeopardy Protections Bar Conviction for Both Offenses When Based on Same Conduct, March 15, 2025
• Maryland Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Its Discretion by Failing to Exercise That Discretion Where It Summarily Refused Requested Jury Instruction Because It Was a Non-Pattern Instruction and ‘Some Evidence’ Supported the Instruction, March 15, 2025
• $100,000 Settlement Reached in New York Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Suit, After Jury for First Time Finds Practice Violates Eighth Amendment, March 1, 2025
• Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, Feb. 15, 2025
• Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, Feb. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners, Feb. 1, 2025. First Step Act, Resentencing, Credits.
• Kansas Supreme Court Announces Complete and Wrongful Denial of Defendant’s Constitutional Right to Testify Constitutes ‘Structural Error’ and Reverses Convictions Where Defendant Removed From Stand and Entire Testimony Stricken, Oct. 1, 2024. Procedural Default/Error, Right to Testify, Right to Testify/Remain Silent.
• Fourth Circuit Announces ‘Sentencing Package Doctrine’ Permits District Court to Resentence Both Covered and Noncovered Offenses Under First Step Act, July 15, 2024. First Step Act, Resentencing, De Novo Resentencing.
• BOP Has a Halfway House Problem, June 1, 2024. First Step Act, Good Time Credits, Halfway House Placement, Community Corrections Facilities.
• New Data From BOP Reveals Technical Violations Account for Nearly a Third of First Step Act Recidivism, May 15, 2024. Crime, Statistics/Trends, First Step Act, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Revocation Proceedings.
• Time Served Under the First Step Act: Reduction, Not Revolution, April 15, 2024. Statistics/Trends, First Step Act.
• Federal Prisoners Released Under First Step Act Show 37% Reduction in Recidivism, April 1, 2024. Crime, Statistics/Trends, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, First Step Act.
• Preliminary Analysis of Recidivism Data After Three Years Under First Step Act Is Promising but Inconclusive, March 15, 2024. First Step Act.
• Federal Sentencing Guidelines Undergo Substantial Amendments, Jan. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Violence Against Women Act, Criminal History, Qualifying Offenses, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Sexual Abuse/Harrassment/Exploitation, Sexual Exploitation of Minors, Federally Protected Rights, Sexual Conduct with Minors, Sentences - Authorized, Safety Valve, Acceptance of Responsibility, Preservation of Judicial Resources, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of.
• U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence, Jan. 15, 2024. AEDPA, Procedural Default/Error, Proving Cause, Capital Cases, Procedural Error, Effective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Right to, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness, Right to Counsel.