More from this issue:

1. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, by Douglas Ankney
2. Warrantless Device Inspections Surge at the U.S. Border, by David Kim
3. Welcome to 2025: Where Your Freedoms Go to Die, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
4. 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, by Douglas Ankney
5. ICE’s Expansive Surveillance Tool Monitors Hundreds of Websites and Apps, by James Mills
6. Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, by Sagi Schwartzberg
7. A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth, by Michael Thompson
8. Cops’ Lie-Detecting Delusion: They Can’t Spot Lies Based on Nonverbal Cues or ‘Abnormal’ Behavior—Yet Keep Lying to Themselves (and Ruining Lives) That They Can, by David Kim
9. Federal Government Circumventing Fourth Amendment by Buying Data From Data Brokers, by Anthony Accurso
10. Third-Hand Meth Contamination in Cars Poses Hidden Danger to Buyers and Renters, by Jo Ellen Nott
11. Bodycam Footage for Sale: Ohio Joins the List of States Charging Money for Bodycam Footage, While Others Restrict It Entirely, by James Mills
12. AI Identifies Sex From Skulls Faster and More Accurately Than Experts, by James Mills
13. Crowdsourcing a Map to Track License Plate Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
14. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Order of Deferred Disposition Not a ‘Sentence’ Under Article 44.01(b)—Which Authorizes State to Appeal Illegal Sentence—Resolving Split Among State Courts of Appeals, by David Reutter
15. Treasury Lowers Cash Reporting Threshold to $200 for Southwest Border Counties, by James Mills
16. Connecticut Compensates Exonerated Prisoners, Reforms Policing, by Jo Ellen Nott
17. NYPD Responds to 911 Calls with Drones, by James Mills
18. Younger Generations Lead Decline in U.S. Support for Death Penalty, by Michael Thompson
19. D.C. Police Continue Heavy Investment in Social Media Monitoring, by Anthony Accurso
20. Questionable Retail Theft Panic Fuels More Mass Surveillance and Police Militarization, by Jo Ellen Nott
21. 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, by Douglas Ankney
22. Nearly 150 Exonerations in 2024 Highlight Persistent Flaws in U.S. Criminal Justice System, by David Kim
23. Ninth Circuit Grants Stay and Abeyance of Federal Habeas Petition to Allow Petitioner to Exhaust State Remedies, by Sagi Schwartzberg
24. The FBI’s Encrypted Phone Sting, by Michael Thompson
25. Ninth Circuit Announces Attorney Cannot Be Compelled to Provide ‘Privilege Log’ Protected Under Fisher if Doing So Would Undermine Client’s Fifth Amendment ‘Act-of-Production Privilege’ and Attorney-Client Privilege, by Sagi Schwartzberg
26. Fifth Circuit: Sentence Enhancement for Maintaining Drug Premises Not Satisfied Solely by Defendant’s Single, Conclusory Statement That He ‘Maintained’ Premises When Record Shows Mere ‘Use’ of Premises, by David Reutter
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:

• $4,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Requests, Oct. 1, 2026. Damages, Retroactivity, Public Records Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Federal Habeas Quick Reference Guide for State Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Cause and Prejudice.
• Buried in Plain Sight: How Digital Discovery Turns Disclosure Itself Into Concealment, Aug. 15, 2026. Videotaping, Suppression of Identity Evidence, Eyewitness Identification, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
• Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Eyewitness Identification, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
• Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Eyewitness Identification, Brady Rule violations.
• Michigan Supreme Court Announces Betts Decision Invalidating 2011 SORA as Ex Post Facto Punishment Applies Retroactively to Defendants on Collateral Review, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Retroactivity, Ex Post Facto, Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law.
• Hawai’i Supreme Court Holds Trial Court Failed to Consider HAWJIC 3.19A Factors and “Effect of Suggestiveness on Reliability” When Evaluating Field Show-Up Identifications, July 1, 2026. witness misidentification, Motions To Suppress, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Suppression of Identity Evidence, Eyewitness Identification.
• 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.
• Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
• Aphantasia: Why Truthful Witnesses Can Sound Like Liars, Jan. 1, 2026. Jury Instructions, False Statements/Perjury, Self-Authentication, Voir Dire, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Eyewitness Identification, Character/Reputation/Propensity.