More from this issue:

1. Your Car Is Spying on You, by Michael Thompson
2. People of Maine at Forefront of Battle to Keep Government Security Apparatus in Check, by Douglas Ankney
3. A Nation of Snitches: DHS Is Grooming Americans to Report on Each Other, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
4. Montana Supreme Court: Retroactive Application of Montana’s Sex Offender Registration Law, as Amended Since 2007, Violates Ex Post Facto Clause of State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
5. Checking In With Community Supervision, by Anthony Accurso
6. New Jersey Takes First Steps in Eliminating Public Defender Fees, by Jordan Arizmendi
7. Ninth Circuit: Younger Abstention Doctrine Inapplicable Where Habeas Petitioner Seeks Stay While § 1172.6 Petition in State Court Being Litigated and Petitioner Entitled to Stay of Habeas Proceedings While State Petition Pending, by Douglas Ankney
8. Advent of ‘Green’ Ammunition Prompts Forensic Science to Analyze Organic and Inorganic Gunshot Residue and Establish Benchmarks for CSI, by Jo Ellen Nott
9. Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Self-Serving Hearsay’ Statements Introduced Under Rule of Completeness Not Hearsay and Do Not Render Defendant Impeachable, by Richard Resch
10. Michigan Supreme Court Holds Guilty Plea Cannot Be ‘Voluntary and Knowing’ When Induced by Inaccurate Understanding of Minimum and Maximum Prison Sentence, by David Reutter
11. Study Reveals Important Details About iPhone’s Building Level Registration Reliability, by Jo Ellen Nott
12. California Supreme Court Clarifies Harmless-Error Analysis of Alternative-Theory Error, Reverses and Remands Where Court of Appeal Applied Incorrect Standard, by Douglas Ankney
13. Ninth Circuit Explains Martinez ‘Cause’ and ‘Prejudice’ to Excuse Procedural Default in Federal Habeas Proceeding Where Claim of IAC in State Proceedings Was Procedurally Defaulted Due to Postconviction Counsel’s Failure to Timely Raise Claim, by Douglas Ankney
14. Study: ‘Inconclusive Finding’ by Examiner of Cartridge Casing Should Be Finding of ‘Excluded’ 85% of the Time, by Douglas Ankney
15. 10th Circuit Reverses Guidelines Enhancement Because Possession of Ammo Does Not Facilitate Possession of a Firearm, by Anthony Accurso
16. ICE Employees Caught (Again) Misusing Access to Databases, by Jordan Arizmendi
17. Facial Recognition Software Gives Unreliable Results with Black Individuals and Leads to Unlawful Arrests, by Jo Ellen Nott
18. Fourth Circuit: Evidence Suppressed Where Officers Seized Defendant Without Reasonable Suspicion and Forced Him to Prove He Was Not Armed, by Anthony Accurso
19. Electrocution by Taser Is Not Death From Excited Delirium, by Douglas Ankney
20. New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Presumption in Favor of In-Person Interpreter for Criminal Trials and Issues Guidelines for Use of Video Remote Interpreting, by Matthew Clarke
21. Sheep and Sheepdogs: Use and Abuse of Non-Lethal Crowd Control Weapons, by Benjamin Tschirhart
22. Fourth Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Where Record Unclear Whether District Court Considered All Nonfrivolous Arguments Raised by Defendant, by Douglas Ankney
23. Arizona Attorney General Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Toss Unconstitutional Law Banning the Recording of Cops, by Jo Ellen Nott
24. Colorado’s Amendments to Post-Conviction DNA Testing Statute Allows Greater Number of Affected Persons to Seek Testing, by Douglas Ankney
25. Sixth Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Required Defendant at Resentencing to Admit Guilt in Order to Fully Consider Defendant’s Evidence of Rehabilitation, by Douglas Ankney
26. Tenth Circuit Announces District Court Erred in Applying Attempted Murder Cross-Reference Under U.S.S.G. § 2A2.1 Based on Malice Aforethought, Without Finding Intent to Kill, by Douglas Ankney
27. Gunshot Detection Technology Continues to Acquire New Business Despite Major Clients Dropping Contracts and Researchers Questioning Its Effectiveness, by Jo Ellen Nott
28. Computing Fear in Black and Brown Communities, by Michael Thompson
29. DOJ Concludes Louisville Police Engaging in Patterns of Unconstitutional Conduct, by Douglas Ankney
30. ICE Tramples Over the Judicial System, by Jordan Arizmendi
31. U.K. Study of Consistency Among Pairs of Child Witnesses Shows Surprising Results, by Matthew Clarke
32. Third Circuit Announces COA Required for Federal Prisoner Appealing District Court’s Choice of Remedy in § 2255 Proceeding, by Douglas Ankney
33. West Virginia Supreme Court Announces in the Absence of a Deadline, Trial Court Must Permit Defendant to Stipule to Prior Conviction During Trial, by Douglas Ankney
34. Geofencing January 6th, by Michael Thompson
35. Three’s a Crowd: Issues of DNA Mixture Analysis and Interpretation, by Eike Blohm, MD
36. New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Retain Common Law Jurisdictional Authority to Correct Illegal Sentences, Allows Defendant to Withdraw Plea After Sentence Correction Involving Additional Parole Time, by Anthony Accurso
37. News in Brief

More from Douglas Ankney:

• The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026
• California Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-Circumstances Framework Focused on Defendant’s Subjective Understanding Under § 1473.7(a)(1), Holding Immigration Consequences Advisement Is Relevant but Not Dispositive, Oct. 1, 2026
• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Conflicting Affidavits About Plea Acceptance Require Evidentiary Hearing on Ineffective-Assistance Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Vacates Award of Costs to Prison Officials, Revives Prisoner’s Claim Alleging Denial of Access to Functioning Toilets and Exposure to Other Prisoners’ Feces, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions, Holding Requirement That Defendant Testify Before Displaying Hand Tattoos Violates Fifth Amendment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026
• Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Ninth Circuit Rules Favorably for Washington Prisoner Whose Writing Submission Was Censored, Oct. 1, 2026. Retaliation, Qualified Immunity, Mail Regulations, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
• HRDC Wins Injunction Against Minnesota DOC Policy Banning Its Publications, Sept. 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
• States Claim to Invest in “Humane” New Prisons— But Prisons Were Never Humane, Sept. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Organizing, Hunger Strikes, Protests, Failure to Treat, Immigration Detention.
• $75 Million CoreCivic Contract to Reopen Minnesota Private Prison Creates Resistance from Activists and Lawmakers, Sept. 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Protests, Advocacy, State Legislation, Immigration Detention.
• Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
• $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, Aug. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Certificate of Innocence, False Imprisonment, Confessions - Coerced.
• Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, Aug. 1, 2026. Sovereign Immunity, Religious Practices, Religious Property, First Amendment, rights, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
• Relevant Conduct: How Federal Sentencing Law Punishes More Than the Crime of Conviction, Aug. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Plain Error, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts, Relevant Conduct.
• HRDC Wins Injunction to Halt New Mexico Prison Censorship, July 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
• Wisconsin Bans Recording of Prison Phone Calls with Journalists, July 1, 2026. Access to Media, Censorship, First Amendment, First Amendment, rights, Recorded Calls.