More from this issue:

1. The Rise of Mass Supervision: From Rehabilitative Alternative to Shadow Carceral State, by Casey Bastian
2. California Court of Appeal Announces Crime Defendant ‘Was Convicted’ of, Not Crime ‘Could Have Been Convicted’ of Today, Governs Eligibility for Removal From Sex Offender Registry, by Douglas Ankney
3. Ohio Supreme Court Announces Self-Defense Jury Instruction Does Not Require Intent to Harm or Kill Assailant, by David Reutter
4. 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, by Anthony Accurso
5. Fifth Circuit Announces Geofence Warrants Are Unconstitutional ‘Modern-Day General Warrants’, by Sam Rutherford
6. Federal Judges Closing Loophole That Permits Government to Conduct Warrantless Searches of Cellphones at Border, by Douglas Ankney
7. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Trial Court Violated Defendant’s ‘Due Process’ Right to Be Present During Zoom Probation Revocation Hearing by Muting Him, by Sam Rutherford
8. Kansas Supreme Court Announces Complete and Wrongful Denial of Defendant’s Constitutional Right to Testify Constitutes ‘Structural Error’ and Reverses Convictions Where Defendant Removed From Stand and Entire Testimony Stricken, by Douglas Ankney
9. Sixth Circuit Strikes Retroactive Application of Parts of Tennessee’s Sweeping Sex Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Law, by Sam Rutherford
10. Cops Want to Use DNA for Facial Recognition, by Michael Thompson
11. Systemic Failures in Background Check Reporting Is Ruining Lives and Costing Billions of Dollars, by Anthony Accurso
12. Study Finds That Black Americans Want Both Police Presence and Reform: Looking Beyond the Headlines, by Jo Ellen Nott
13. U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Data Report on Compassionate Release in FY 2023, by Matthew Clarke
14. New Research Method Leads to Better Touch DNA Recovery and Development of Genetic Profiles, by Douglas Ankney
15. Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, by Dale Chappell
16. Third Circuit District Court Erred by Failing to Consider Mitigating Evidence Under § 3553(a) Because It Mistakenly Believed Such Grounds Already Taken Into Consideration Based on Safety-Valve, Minor Role, and Acceptance of Responsibility Departures in, by Sam Rutherford
17. 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, by Matthew Clarke
18. Rhode Island Supreme Court Holds Temporal Requirement of ‘Recent Fabrication’ Exception to Hearsay Rule Not Satisfied and Scribbled Note Made by Child Victim of Sexual Abuse Years After Alleged Events Not ‘Excited Utterance’, by Matthew Clarke
19. Louisiana Becomes First State in Nation to Allow Judges to Order Surgical Castration for Sex Offenders, by Jo Ellen Nott
20. Virginia Supreme Court Announces Parties Are Free to Renegotiate Plea Agreement Not Already Accepted by Trial Court, Which May Not Enforce Original Plea Against Parties’ Wishes, by Sam Rutherford
21. Ninth Circuit Clarifies ‘Implicit Breach’ Case Law Regarding When Government Breaches Plea Agreement by Responding to Defendant’s Request for Downward Variant Sentence, by Sam Rutherford
22. News in Brief

More from Sam Rutherford:

• Ninth Circuit Affirms $3.84 Million Jury Verdict in Death of San Bernardino Jail Detainee from Acute Alcohol Withdrawal, March 1, 2026
• Shelby County DA Oversees Retesting After Forensic Analyst’s Dismissal for ‘Unethical Conduct’, July 1, 2025
• Self-Harming Wisconsin Prisoner Settles Failure-to-Protect Suit for $7,000, April 1, 2025
• 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
• Ninth and Tenth Circuits Find Bivens Extension Orders Not Immediately Appealable, March 1, 2025
• New Mexico Corrections Department Continues Pattern of Abuse With Contract Medical Provider Wexford Health Sources, Feb. 15, 2025
• Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments, Feb. 15, 2025
• 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
• Fourth Circuit Decision on Claim of Retaliation for Exercising First And Sixth Amendment Rights Highlights Police Corruption, Feb. 15, 2025
• Washington DOC Physician Assistant Surrenders Medical License in Wake of Malpractice Allegations, Feb. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Conflicting Affidavits About Plea Acceptance Require Evidentiary Hearing on Ineffective-Assistance Claim, Oct. 1, 2026. Summary Disposition, Strickland Standard, Hearsay Evidence, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• 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. Deportation/Removal/Exclusion, Awareness of Consequences, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made, Grounds For Withdrawal.
• California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026. Disciplinary Hearings, Due Process, Procedural Default/Error, Evidence - Admissibility, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• SCOTUS Announces Appeal Waivers in Plea Agreements Unenforceable When Enforcement Would Produce a Miscarriage of Justice, Adopting Majority Circuit Approach, July 1, 2026. Involuntary Treatment/Drugging, Knowingly and Intelligently, Preservation of Appellate Rights/Issues, Special Conditions, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made, Validity of.
• Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Announces Six-Factor Test for Evaluating Presentence Motions to Withdraw Guilty Pleas Under Rule 32(e), Holds Binding Plea Agreement Does Not Extinguish Defendant’s Ability to Seek Withdrawal, July 1, 2026. Knowingly and Voluntarily Made, Withdrawal, Grounds For Withdrawal, Acceptance/Rejection by the Court, Validity of.
• California Supreme Court Announces Amended § 1170(b) Applies Retroactively to Plea-Bargained Upper Term Sentences, July 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Sixth Amendment, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Grounds For Withdrawal, Validity of.
• Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Sentencing, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Nevada Ex-Warden Ordered to Counseling After Ear-Biting Incident, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Alternative Sentencing, Assaults on Staff, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Money/Property, Bail/Pretrial Release, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• 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.