More from this issue:

1. Probabilistic Genotyping on Trial: Can We Trust 
the Secret Algorithms Deciding Guilt?, by Michael Thompson
2. SCOTUS Announces Sentence ‘Has Not Been Imposed’ 
for Purposes of First Step Act Retroactivity Upon Resentencing When § 924(c) Offender Sentenced Prior to Act’s Enactment 
but Sentence Subsequently Vacated, by Richard Resch
3. Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA, by Douglas Ankney
4. U.S. Sentencing Commission Adopts 2025 Amendments 
to Resolve Circuit Conflicts, by David Kim
5. The Flawed Science of Cannabis Impairment Detection: 
The Need for Evidence-Based Reform, by David Kim
6. Summary of the 2025 Drug Offenses Amendment 
by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, by David Kim
7. Tenth Circuit Announces Motor Vehicles Are Not Per Se Instrumentalities of Interstate Commerce Under Commerce Clause for Purposes of the Federal Kidnapping Statute, by David Kim
8. SCOTUS Announces Courts May Not Consider 
§ 3553(a)(2)(A)—Retribution—When Deciding Whether 
to Revoke a Term of Supervised Release, by Richard Resch
9. Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies Procedure for Crediting 
Jail Time to Multiple Contemporaneously-Imposed Sentences, by Matthew Clarke
10. First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement 
Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, 
Not Specific Performance by District Court, by David Reutter
11. The Quiet Transformation of Government Data 
into a Mass Surveillance Tool, by David Kim
12. California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Misconstrued Elements 
of Implied Malice Theory of Provocative Act Murder Under Current Law and Reverses Denial of Petition for Resentencing, by Sagi Schwartzberg
13. Ninth Circuit: ‘Dominion and Control’ Provision of Search Warrant for Suspect’s Computer That Lacked Temporal or Other Limitation Constitutes General Warrant, by Anthony Accurso
14. Illinois Supreme Court Announces Conviction 
for Attempted First Degree Murder Requires 
‘Intent to Kill Without Lawful Justification, by Jeffrey Cohen
15. AI Honeypots: Police Are Using Chatbots to Pose 
as Teens and Sex Workers to Entrap Suspects, by Michael Thompson
16. The Arrival of REAL ID: National ID Cards 
and Internal Passports in America, by David Kim
17. Eleventh Circuit Announces Sixth Amendment Right to Proceed Pro Se at Sentencing if Defendant ‘Clearly and Unequivocally’ Expresses Desire to Do So After Faretta Inquiry, by Jeffrey Cohen
18. Beyond the City Limits: How Rural Sheriff’s Departments 
Are Driving the Spike in Police Killings, by David Kim
19. DEA’s Secret Phone Surveillance Program ‘Hemisphere’ 
Sparked Internal Warnings—Then a Cover-Up, by Charles "Keith" Wampler
20. Fourth Circuit Announces Sentencing Disparity 
Between Defendant and Co-Defendants Alone Constitutes ‘Extraordinary and Compelling’ Reason Sufficient 
to Justify Compassionate Release, by David Kim
21. News in Brief

More from David Kim:

• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Amending Indictment to Change Subsections of Aggravated Child Rape Statute Constitutes an Impermissible Substantive Amendment, April 1, 2026
• Oregon Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 9, of State Constitution Protects Privacy in Internet Browsing Conducted Over Public Wi-Fi Networks, April 1, 2026
• Indiana Supreme Court Clarifies “Single Statutory Offense” for Substantive Double Jeopardy Analysis, Holding Powell Test Governs Multiple Convictions Under Elevated Forms of Common Base Offense, April 1, 2026
• SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026
• Fifth Circuit Announces Long Vehicle Protective-Search Exception Requires Contemporaneous Facts Demonstrating Third Party’s Potential Dangerousness Before Warrantless Vehicle Search Is Permissible, March 1, 2026
• Fourth Circuit Clarifies Two-Year Statute of Limitations Governs All § 1983 Claims Arising in West Virginia, Regardless of Underlying Tort or Survivability, March 1, 2026
• Montana Supreme Court: Due Process Prohibits Courts From Relying on Unproven Charging Allegations When Imposing Sex Offender Registration Duty, Announces First-Impression Rule Limiting Review to Elements of Conviction, March 1, 2026
• Eleventh Circuit Announces Hobbs Act Robbery Requires Force Before or During Taking, Reversing Conviction Where Defendant Used Force Only After Co-Conspirator Had Surreptitiously Stolen Property and Departed, March 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Holds Exclusion of Evidence Corroborating Defendant’s Testimony About Third-Party Statements Bearing on Intent Was Error, Clarifying That Rule 404(b) Does Not Bar Non-Propensity Evidence Offered to Support Credibility, March 1, 2026
• Oregon Supreme Court Announces Bright-Line Rule Requiring Dismissal Without Prejudice When State Fails to Appoint Counsel for Eligible Criminal Defendant Within 60 Days in Misdemeanor Cases or 90 Days in Felony Cases Post-Arraignment, March 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Two Texas Women Charged for Using Plastic Crows in Smuggling Scheme, April 1, 2026. Cell Phone Access, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Methamphetamine, Simple Possession/Personal Use versus Distribution.
• Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Qualifying Offenses, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Child Pornography.
• U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
• Acquitted Conduct Sentencing: Not Guilty – But Punished Anyway, March 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Federal Legislation, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts.
• First Circuit Clarifies Mitigating Role Analysis – Sentencing Courts Must Consider All Identifiable Participants in Drug Shipment, Not Just Crew Members, and Use § 3B1.2 Factors to Assess Relative Culpability, Not Guilt, Dec. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
• Third Circuit Announces “Commencement of the Instant Offense” in Guidelines § 4A1.2(e) Unambiguously Refers Only to Specific Offense of Conviction, Not Relevant Conduct, Nov. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Adequacy of Criminal History Category, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Indiana Supreme Court Announces Whether Defendant’s Actions Were “Objectively Reasonable” Justifying Self-Defense Can Be Considered in Hindsight, Sept. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Criminal Procedure, Appealable Issues/Orders.
• U.S. Sentencing Commission Adopts 2025 Amendments 
to Resolve Circuit Conflicts, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Criminal History, Arrest/Arraignment, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission 
Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Compassionate Release.
• Fourth Circuit: A Finding of Offering Money to Minor 
for Videos Depicting Specific Conduct Without Establishing 
Order of Events Insufficient to Establish Offer ‘Caused’ 
Minor to Produce Explicit Material Within Meaning 
of Guidelines § 2G2.2(c)(1) Cros, July 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Applicable Guidelines Issues.