More from this issue:

1. The Evolving Science, Skepticism, and Limited Evidentiary Value of Firearm and Toolmark Identification, by Douglas Ankney
2. Op-Ed: Fix the First Step Act and Let Reformed Prisoners Out From Behind Bars – Time Credits and the Irrebuttable Presumption Doctrine, by Christopher Cobb
3. Beyond Rehabilitation: Personal Achievement and Selfless Service as Grounds for Federal Compassionate Release, by Luke Sommer, James Lockhart
4. SCOTUS Announces Statute of Limitations for § 1983 Claim Challenging State’s Postconviction DNA Testing Procedures Begins to Run Upon Completion of State-Court Litigation, Including Appeals, by Richard Resch
5. Oregon Supreme Court: Right to Counsel Violated by Police Questioning Defendant About an Uncharged Crime in Connection With Charged Crime for Which Defendant Represented by Counsel, by Mark Wilson
6. Idaho Supreme Court: Confession Obtained in Violation of Miranda Inadmissible in State’s Case in Chief but May Be Used for Impeachment Purposes Where Defendant’s Will Was Not ‘Overborne’ During Interrogation, by Douglas Ankney
7. Ohio Supreme Court: Good-Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Inapplicable to Warrant Based on Affidavit Stating Cellphones Found at Scene of Traffic Crash ‘May’ Contain Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
8. Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention, by Harold Hempstead
9. Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Satisfy All Three Subsections of § 3553(f)(1) to Be Ineligible for Safety Valve, by Douglas Ankney
10. New York Court of Appeals Announces When an Alternate Juror Is ‘Discharged’ and no Longer ‘Available for Service’, by Douglas Ankney
11. Seventh Circuit: Fugitive Who Leased Condo Under Alias Retained Expectation of Privacy so Landlord Could Not Give Valid Consent for Warrantless Search of Premises, by Richard Resch
12. California Court of Appeal: Geofence Warrant Violates ‘Particularity’ Requirement of Fourth Amendment and Is ‘Overbroad’ but Good Faith Exception Applies Because of the Novelty of Geofence Warrants at Time Sought and Executed, by Richard Resch
13. Washington Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ‘Rule of Automatic Reversal’ When Prosecutor Flagrantly Appeals to Racial and Ethnic Bias During Voir Dire, by Mark Wilson
14. Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, by Dale Chappell
15. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Granting of New Trial in Murder Case Based on IAC Where Counsel Failed to Investigate Exculpatory Evidence Contained in a Proffer and Provided to Counsel Prior to Trial, by Matthew Clarke
16. A Lie Is Still a Lie, Even if the Speaker Genuinely Believes It, by Jordan Arizmendi
17. Tennessee Supreme Court Announces State Statute Automatically Sentencing Juvenile Offenders Convicted of First-Degree Murder to Life in Prison Is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
18. California Court of Appeal Announces ‘Plausible Justification’ as Standard for Claiming Entitlement to Discovery Under Racial Justice Act of 2020, by Mark Wilson
19. Ohio Supreme Court: IAC for Counsel to Mention ‘Neonaticide’ at Sentencing but Fail to Explain and Use It as Mitigating Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
20. by Eike Blohm, MD FATAL ENCOUNTERS WITH POLICE OCCUR in the U.S. with disturbing frequency, setting us apart from other Western industrial nations. A recent study published in the Annual Review of Criminology explores the drivers behind this American exce, by Jordan Arizmendi
21. Study Explores Factors Underlying High Rate of American Police Killings, by Eike Blohm, MD
22. Proactive Online Stings Do Little to Protect Children, by Eike Blohm, MD
23. California Court Rejects Geofence Warrant, by Anthony Accurso
24. News in Brief

More from Dale Chappell:

• Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
• How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
• Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
• Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
• Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
• The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
• Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023

More from these topics:

• Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Wrongful Use of Force.
• Idaho Will Recruit Law Enforcement Volunteers for Firing Squad Executions, July 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Method of Execution.
• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026. Sixth Amendment, Counsel - Constructive denial of, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Grounds for Relief.
• Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
• Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, State Legislation, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
• Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.
• Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Strickland Governs Collateral Claims That Defense Counsel Prevented Defendant From Testifying, May 1, 2026. Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Strickland Standard, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant, Grounds for Relief, Right to Testify/Remain Silent.
• Delaware Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ABA Standard 3-6.5(b) Governing Prosecutors’ Opening Statements, Reverses Murder Convictions Based on Prosecutor’s References to Co-Defendant’s Guilty Plea, May 1, 2026. Evidence - Admissibility, Improper Comments, Plain Error, Fair Trial, Grounds for Relief.
• Oregon Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must Give Complete Oral Final Jury Instructions at Conclusion of Trial, Preliminary Instructions Cannot Substitute for the ORCP 59 B Charge, May 1, 2026. Jury Instructions, Jury Instructions in Jury Room, Grounds for Relief, Denial of Due Process, Right to Testify/Remain Silent.
• Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.