More from this issue:

1. Police Misconduct Reform: Forcing Police Officers to Have ‘Skin in the Game’ by Creating Financial Incentives with Insurance Premiums, by David Reutter
2. Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentencing Factors, by Douglas Ankney
3. Closed Circuit Cameras: Not the Objective Lenses We’re Told, by Benjamin Tschirhart
4. Database Containing 450,000 Records of NYPD Misconduct Now Available, by Douglas Ankney
5. Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Have Discretion to Consider Non-­Retroactive Changes in Post-­Sentencing Decisional Law in Assessing ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons’ for Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
6. New Tool Used by Police to Improve Interviewing Skills, by Jordan Arizmendi
7. New York Court of Appeals Suppresses Evidence Because Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion Necessary for Level 3 Stop and Frisk Under De Bour Framework, by Richard Resch
8. Kansas Supreme Court: Defendants May File a Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence in Appellate Court While on Direct Review, by Douglas Ankney
9. U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-­2022, by Casey Bastian
10. SCOTUS Announces Pending Investigation or Proceeding Is Not Required for an Offense to be ‘Related to Obstruction of Justice’ and Qualify as ‘Aggravated Felony’ in Removal of Noncitizen, by Douglas Ankney
11. We’re All Suspects in a DNA Lineup, Waiting to be Matched with a Crime, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
12. California Supreme Court Vacates Second Degree Murder Conviction Where Jury Instructed on Now Invalid Felony-­Murder Theory, by Douglas Ankney
13. U.S. Supreme Court Announces § 2255(e)’s ‘Saving Clause’ Does Not Enable Prisoners to File § 2241 Petition Based on AEDPA’s Rule Against Second or Successive § 2255 Motions, by Douglas Ankney
14. ‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants, by Jordan Arizmendi
15. Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun, by Douglas Ankney
16. California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Abused Discretion in Failing to Recall Terminally Ill Prisoner’s Sentence Following CDCR’s Recommendation for Compassionate Release, by Douglas Ankney
17. American Bar Association’s 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report, by Carlo Difundo
18. Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas Petition Where District Court Failed to Review Magistrate’s Report De Novo After Characterizing Petitioner’s Objections as ‘Attempt to Reargue Case’, by Douglas Ankney
19. D.C. Circuit Orders New Trial Due to Brady Violations Involving Source of Information, Not Withholding of Information Itself, by Richard Resch
20. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Granting Motion for New Trial Because ‘Verdict Is Contrary to Law and Evidence,’ Without Further Explanation, Bars Retrial, by Matthew Clarke
21. Third Circuit Vacates Possession of Cocaine Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence to Support Weight Element, by David Reutter
22. How the Backdoor Loophole Enables the FBI to Search Your Communications Without a Warrant, by Michael Thompson
23. Ninth Circuit Announces No Deference to Application Note 1 to Guideline § 4B1.2(b) Because It Impermissibly Expands Definition of ‘Controlled Substance Offense’, by Douglas Ankney
24. Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review, by Douglas Ankney
25. Digital Voiceprinting Is Not Ready for Court, by Anthony Accurso
26. Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Mansor Ruling for Search Warrants for Digital Data and Announces Framework for Suppression When Warrant Contains Both Constitutional and Unconstitutional Search Categories, by Anthony Accurso
27. 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:

• Federal Habeas Quick Reference Guide for State Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Cause and Prejudice.
• Sixth Circuit Holds Kentucky Deficient-Counsel Belated-Appeal Procedure Tolls Federal Habeas One-Year Limitations Period, Sept. 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Failure to Preserve Challenge, Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches.
• Formally Available, Rarely Granted: A State Prisoner’s Guide to Federal Habeas Relief, Sept. 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion, Habeas Corpus, Bureau of Prisons Orders, Administrative Law/Remedies, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches, Federal Rules of Evidence, Statute of Limitations.
• Eleventh Circuit Holds § 2255 Motion Not “Second or Successive” After Intervening Amended Judgment Corrected Unlawful Sentences, Even as to Claims Concerning an Undisturbed Count, Aug. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Effect of Vacatur.
• Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, June 1, 2026. Release and Reentry, Habeas Corpus, First Step Act, Community Confinement/Home Detention, Credits.
• Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant.
• Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026. De Novo Resentencing, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review, Grounds For Withdrawal, Validity of.
• California Court of Appeal Announces Plea Agreements Cannot Bar § 1172.1 Resentencing, Holds Merit-Based Denial of Petition Is Appealable, April 1, 2026. Appealable Issues/Orders, Abuse of Discretion Standard, De Novo Resentencing, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, March 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Predicate Acts/Offenses.
• SCOTUS Announces Federal Prisoners May Seek Certiorari Review of Authorization Denials Under § 2255(h) and Are Not Subject to § 2244(b)(1)’s Bar on Previously Presented Claims, Feb. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.