More from this issue:

1. Dangerous Encounters: Interactions Between Autistic Individuals and Law Enforcement, by Casey Bastian
2. Natural Language Processing Software Can Identify Biased Jury Selection, Has Potential to Be Used in Real Time During Voir Dire, by Jo Ellen Nott
3. Louisiana Sheriffs Repeatedly and Conveniently Destroy Public Records, by Benjamin Tschirhart
4. Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant May Not Be Sentenced to Home Confinement for Violating Terms of Supervised Release When Sentenced to Statutory Maximum Period of Imprisonment for the Violation, by Douglas Ankney
5. CBP Promises Not to Buy Location Data – But Is It a Hollow Promise?, by Michael Thompson
6. Use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy Searches to Identify Suspects Needs Regulation and Can Be Challenged, by Matthew Clarke
7. Chicago Cop Lied So Many Times Under Oath That Prosecutors Are Dismissing Cases That Relied on His Testimony, by Jordan Arizmendi
8. 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, by Richard Resch
9. Report Finds Effective Text Message Reminders Can Reduce Community Supervision Violations, by Jordan Arizmendi
10. Third Circuit: Pennsylvania Conviction for First-Degree Aggravated Assault Does Not Require Physical Force so Is Not Qualifying Predicate for ACCA Purposes, by Douglas Ankney
11. First Circuit: Justification for Upward Sentencing Departure Following Supervised Release Revocation Must Be Ade-quately Explained, by Matthew Clarke
12. Sixth Circuit: District Court Committed Procedural Error by Impermissibly Ceding Its Discretion to Congress to Determine Guidelines’ Crack-to-Powder Ratio at Sentencing, by David Reutter
13. Indiana Supreme Court Reverses Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction Where Trial Court Denied Defense Counsel Opportunity to Directly Voir Dire Prospective Jurors, by Douglas Ankney
14. We the Targeted: How the Government Weaponizes Surveillance to Silence its Critics 2372, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
15. Fourth Circuit: Disparate Sentence of 30 Years for Two § 924(c) Convictions Constitutes ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ for Early Release and § 3553(a) Sentencing Factors ‘Overwhelmingly’ Favor Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
16. Massachusetts Supreme Court: Defense Counsel’s Overt Bias Against Own Client Constitutes Actual Conflict of Interest Requiring New Trial Without Need to Prove Prejudice, by Anthony Accurso
17. New Mexico Ends Juvenile Life Without Parole, Retroactively Applies Rule to Previously Convicted Minors, by Anthony Accurso
18. Fourth Circuit Reverses § 924(c) Conviction Because Kidnapping No Longer Qualifies as Predicate Offense and ‘Critical Record Documents’ Do Not Show Firearm Charge Was ‘Expressly Predicated Upon’ Any Other Offense, by Douglas Ankney
19. New York Court Rules Police Allowed to Use Familial DNA Searches, by Jordan Arizmendi
20. Texas Using Highly Sophisticated Israeli Phone Tracking Software, by Jo Ellen Nott
21. ‘Criminal Courteaucracy’: Understanding the Unique Role of Criminal Court Administrators in Implementing Social Con-troll, by David Reutter
22. Fifth Circuit: Fourth Amendment Seizure Occurred When Officer Pulled Behind Parked Vehicle, Activated Emergency Lights, and Simultaneously Ordered Suspect to Remain in Vehicle, by Douglas Ankney
23. The EFF Is Tackling Border Towers, Facilitating Research into Impact of Mass Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
24. Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies When Lesser-Included Offense Instruction Must Be Provided, Reverses Convictions Based on Trial Court’s Failure to Properly Instruct Jury, by Matthew Clarke
25. After Mississippi Supreme Court Announcement, Courts Unprepared to Ensure Poor Defendants Have a Lawyer Throughout the Criminal Process, by Jo Ellen Nott
26. Seventh Circuit Announces Procedures for Addressing ‘Facially Questionable Warrant’ Due to ‘Material Handwritten Alterations’ Unsigned or Initialed by Issuing Judge, by Richard Resch
27. California Supreme Court Reinstates Petition for Resentencing Under SB 1437 Because Trial Court Misapprehended Le-gal Requirements for Proving Aiding and Abetting Implied Malice Murder, by Matthew Clarke
28. Maine Supreme Judicial Court Announces Clarification of Test for Violation of Right to Speedy Trial Under Maine Constitu-tion, by David Reutter
29. Sixth Circuit: Because Ohio’s Aggravated Robbery Statute Does Not Contain Mens Rea Requirement, Conviction Is Violent Felony Under ACCA Only if Underlying Theft in Robbery Contains Required Mens Rea, by Douglas Ankney
30. News in Brief

More from Matthew Clarke:

• Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Alabama Prisoner’s Excessive Prison Violence Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
• Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026
• Fourth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Jail Supervisors Who Ignored Detainee’s Cranial Abscesses, Oct. 1, 2026
• Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Some Defendants from Lawsuit Over Missouri Prisoner’s Suicide, Oct. 1, 2026
• Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026
• Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026
• Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
• Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
• New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
• DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• California Supreme Court Announces § 189(e)(2) Requires Nonkiller to Aid the Actual Killer in the Lethal Act, Resolving Appellate Split, May 1, 2026. Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Essential Elements of Crime, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Accessories and Accomplices.
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Mandatory Life Without Parole for Felony Murder Unconstitutional Under State Constitution, Holding Article I, Section 13 Provides Broader Protections Than Eighth Amendment, April 1, 2026. Life without Parole (LWOP), Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Resentencing, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
• 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.
• California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Misconstrued Elements 
of Implied Malice Theory of Provocative Act Murder Under Current Law and Reverses Denial of Petition for Resentencing, Aug. 1, 2025. Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Failure to Prove.
• Florida Prisoner Returns to Custody After Overturned Conviction Reinstated, May 1, 2025. False Statements/Perjury, Resentencing, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Effect of Vacatur, Brady/Giglio/Jencks Act Issues.
• Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, April 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Bank Fraud/Robbery/Theft, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Eligibility for Parole.
• Alabama Governor Commutes Death Sentence, April 1, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Resentencing.
• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants May Obtain Brady Evidence From Police Officers’ Personnel Files in Advance of § 1172.6 Hearing Requesting Vacatur of Conviction and Resentencing for Certain Types of Murder Convictions, Feb. 15, 2025. Disclosure of Records, Police, Brady Violations, Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Evidence - Admissibility.
• Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025. Jury Instructions, Resentencing, Threats, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
• First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners, Feb. 1, 2025. First Step Act, Resentencing, Credits.