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 James Lockhart, Luke Sommer
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. Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Satisfy All Three Subsections of § 3553(f)(1) to Be Ineligible for Safety Valve, by Douglas Ankney
9. Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention, by Harold Hempstead
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 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:

• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Defense Counsel Had Actual Conflict of Interest Where Own Performance During Police Interview of Defendant Could Serve as Basis of Motion to Suppress Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, New Trial Required W, March 15, 2025. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Motions To Suppress, Conflict of Interest.
• Legal Gaffe Prolongs Case of Former St. Louis Detainee Held Eight Months After Dismissal of Charges, Feb. 15, 2025. Overdetention, Search and Seizure, Pending Appeal/Sentencing, Dismissal.
• 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.
• 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.
• Third Circuit Announces Claim of Innocence Does Not Resolve Whether Defendant Would Have Accepted Plea Offer Absent Counsel’s Error and Holds Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Properly Advise Defendant About Mandatory Sentences If Plea Offer Rejected, Dec. 15, 2024. Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Rejection.
• Delaware Supreme Court: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Challenge Search of Cellphone Where Consent Was Ambiguous and Warrant Constituted a General Warrant, Nov. 1, 2024. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Warrants - Requirements/Scope/Exceptions.
• Arizona Supreme Court Allows Third PCR Motion Based on IAC for Erroneous Advice About Parole Eligibility Due to ‘Pervasive Confusion’ Regarding Parole Within Legal Community, Nov. 1, 2024. Parole, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Remands/Rehearings/Resentencings.
• Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Where Defense Counsel Failed to Understand State Self-Defense Statute Provides Complete Defense to Felony Murder Based on Felon-in-Possession Charge, Oct. 1, 2024. Habeas Corpus, Felon in Possession Statute, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Murder/Felony Murder.
• Fourth Circuit Vacates Order Denying § 2254 Motion, Remands for Evidentiary Hearing on Whether Counsel’s Failure to Object to Duplicative Drug Conspiracy Counts in Violation of Double Jeopardy Clause Was Strategic, Oct. 1, 2024. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Evidentiary Claims, Drug Trafficking Crimes.