More from this issue:

1. Federal Sentencing Guidelines Undergo Substantial Amendments, by David Reutter
2. California Court of Appeal: Probation Condition Prohibiting Possession of Pornography Impermissibly Vague, by Douglas Ankney
3. FBI Access to FISA Database Includes Some Accountability, by Anthony Accurso
4. DOJ Spending Over $6 Billion in Firms to Seize Innocent Citizens’ Property Via Civil Asset Forfeiture, by Douglas Ankney
5. Indiana Supreme Court Suppresses All Evidence Related to Polygraph Exam for Examiner’s Failure to Disclose Unilater-ally Changing Exam Results From ‘Admissible’ to ‘Inadmissible’ Due to Defendant’s Mental State, by Anthony Accurso
6. Survey: Why Defendants Cooperate with the Government in a Process Described as ‘Unfair’ by Defense Attorneys, by Douglas Ankney
7. West Virginia University Forensic Scientists Provide a Benchmark for Analyzing Duct Tape Fracture Edges, by Jo Ellen Nott
8. FBI Buys Software to Enslave Your Phone, by Michael Thompson
9. The White House Goes Rogue: Secret Surveillance Program Breaks all the Rules, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
10. House Judiciary Committee Investigates Major Banks for Unauthorized Sharing of Private Financial Information With the FBI, by Jo Ellen Nott
11. Second Circuit: Money Concealment Guilty Plea Vacated for Lack of Evidence to Support Factual Finding of Required Mens Rea, by David Reutter
12. Oregon Supreme Court Announces Overruling of Precedent on ‘Attempted Transfer’ of Drugs, by David Reutter
13. Maryland Supreme Court Announces Expectation of Privacy Covers Electronic Data, Not Physical Devices, Thus War-rantless Search of Government’s Copy of Defendant’s Hard Drive After Consent Revoked Violated Fourth Amendment, by Douglas Ankney
14. Fifth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief Granted to Capital Defendant Where Counsel Failed to Impeach State’s Pivotal Wit-ness with Available Forensic Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
15. First Circuit Announces It Has Authority to Raise Claim of Error Sua Sponte for Violation of ‘Mandate Rule’ by Sentenc-ing Court on Remand, by Richard Resch
16. Human DNA Retrieved From Dogs Might Provide Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
17. Sixth Circuit: Trial Judge’s Personal and Condemnatory Remarks Directed Toward Defendant Requires Recusal, by Douglas Ankney
18. Police Requests to Google Replacing Old Fashioned Detective Work, by Anthony Accurso
19. One Solution to Jurors Giving Too Much Weight to Improper Forensic Testimony: 4-Minute Training Video Based on DOJ Guidelines, by Matthew Clarke
20. California Court of Appeal: Defendants Who Plead Guilty to Stipulated Sentence Eligible for Resentencing Under Amended § 1170.91, by Douglas Ankney
21. California Bans Bogus ‘Excited Delirium’ Diagnosis as Cause of Death, by Douglas Ankney
22. New Mexico Supreme Court Clarifies When Reviewing Double Jeopardy Claims, Court to Apply Blockburger’s Strict-Elements Test or Modified Strict-Elements Test—Not Both, by Douglas Ankney
23. FBI Lost Count of Its Snitches at Capitol on January 6, 2021, by Douglas Ankney
24. U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence, by Douglas Ankney
25. Jesse Johnson: 194th Person Exonerated While on Death Row, by Jordan Arizmendi
26. Kansas Supreme Court Announces State Must Prove Defendant Specifically Intended to Enter Dwelling in Which There Was a Person to Sustain Conviction for Attempted Aggravated Burglary, Overruling State v. Watson, by Douglas Ankney
27. Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Test to Determine When Person Becomes Agent of the State and Rules Jailhouse Snitch Was Agent, Requiring Suppression of Defendant’s Statements, by Anthony Accurso
28. NYPD’s Solution for Abusive Cops Who Cost Taxpayers Millions of Dollars in Civil Suits—Promote Them, by Douglas Ankney
29. Eleventh Circuit Announces Supervised Release Term Not Tolled When Defendant Absconds, Deepening Circuit Split, by Anthony Accurso
30. California Court of Appeal: Confrontation Clause Violated Where Defense Prohibited From Cross-Examining Prosecution Witness About Biased Motivation and Fabrication, by Douglas Ankney
31. Fourth Circuit: Evidentiary Hearing Required Where Prisoner’s Allegation of Mental Illness, if True, Is Sufficient to Demonstrate ‘Extraordinary Circumstances’ Warranting Both Rule 60(b)(6) Relief and Tolling of Habeas SOL, by Douglas Ankney
32. Study Reveals That Aging Federal Judges May Experience Cognitive Impairment Affecting Their Opinions, by Douglas Ankney
33. News in Brief

More from Douglas Ankney:

• $1.2 Million in Settlements Reached in Suit Over Sacramento Jail Murder, May 1, 2025
• Eleventh Circuit Revives Volunteer Pastor’s First Amendment Claim at Georgia Jail, May 1, 2025
• Wellpath Sanctioned for Discovery Violation in Suit Over Kentucky Prisoner’s Death, May 1, 2025
• Second Circuit Revives Connecticut Prisoner’s Challenge To Conditions In Virginia Lockup Where He Was Transferred, May 1, 2025
• Missouri Pays More Than $1.2 Million for Deputy Warden’s Sexual Harassment Claim Against Warden, May 1, 2025
• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, April 15, 2025
• Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Teague’s ‘Watershed’ Rule Exception to Nonretroactivity of New Constitutional Rule of Criminal Procedure on Collateral Review Has ‘Continued Vitality’ in Connecticut, Adoption of Third Exception to Teague’s Nonretroacti, April 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit: District Court Erred in Imposing ‘Managerial Role’ Enhancement Under Guidelines § 3B1.1(b) Without Making ‘Particularized Findings’ Regarding Scope of Criminal Activity and Number of Participants as Required by Guidelines §1B1.1, 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

More from these topics:

• Ninth Circuit Grants Stay and Abeyance of Federal Habeas Petition to Allow Petitioner to Exhaust State Remedies, April 15, 2025. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Amendments to Petition.
• SCOTUS Clarifies It Had Already Been ‘Clearly Established Federal Law’ in 2004 for Purposes of AEDPA That Evidence at Trial Can Be So Prejudicial as to Violate Due Process, March 15, 2025. AEDPA, Denial of Due Process.
• How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025. AEDPA, Collateral Order Exception.
• Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025. AEDPA, Procedural Reasonableness, Reasonableness of Sentence.
• Third Circuit Orders Evidentiary Hearing on State Prisoner’s Petition Seeking Federal Habeas Relief Because Both State and Federal Courts Denied Relief Without Holding Hearing on IAC Claim That, if Proven, Would Entitle Him to Relief, Aug. 1, 2024. Evidentiary Ruling, Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Effective Assistance of.
• Eleventh Circuit Reverses District Court’s Grant of Habeas Relief, Notes It’s ‘Murky on When Putting Two Suspects in a Room Together Qualifies as Interrogation Under Miranda’, July 15, 2024. AEDPA, Miranda, Custodial Interrogations, Minors, Use of, Interrogation.
• Sixth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Batson Claims, July 15, 2024. AEDPA, Batson Claims, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise.
• Retraction: ‘Federal Habeas Corpus: The Savings Clause Remedy for Federal Prisoners’ by Dale Chappell, May 15, 2024. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA.
• The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA.
• Maine Supreme Court: Defense Counsel Ineffective for Opening Door to Otherwise Inadmissible Evidence of Bad Character, April 15, 2024. Parental rights, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Failure to Preserve Challenge, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise, Battered Child/Spouse Evidence, Character/Reputation/Propensity, Bad Acts Evidence.