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:

• Ninth Circuit Holds Martinez May Excuse Nevada’s Timeliness and Successive-Petition Bars for Trial Ineffective Assistance Claims, Oct. 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Announces Valid Checks Alone Insufficient for § 1344(2) Bank Fraud, Holding Alleged Failure to Disclose Plausible Defense Warrants § 2255 Hearing, Oct. 1, 2026
• Eleventh Circuit Announces Concealed Firearm Possession Alone Insufficient for Reasonable Suspicion Under Florida’s Amended Concealed-Carry Law, Oct. 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Announces Resentencing After Probation Revocation Must Begin with Chapter 7 Range, Holding Chapter 5 Range Should Be Considered When Deciding Whether to Vary, Sept. 1, 2026
• Hawaii Supreme Court Announces False Evidence Standard Governs Post-Conviction Claims That Scientific Developments Invalidated Expert Testimony, Holding Prosecution Knowledge Not Required Under State Due Process Clause, Sept. 1, 2026
• Alaska Supreme Court Announces “Stop and Clarify” Rule Under Article I, Sections 9 and 11 of Alaska Constitution, Holding Officers Must Cease Questioning and Clarify Ambiguous Post-Waiver Request for Counsel, Sept. 1, 2026
• California Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 28(f)(3) Does Not Authorize Denial of Bail Beyond Offenses Specified in Section 12, Holding Bail Must Generally Be Set in Amount Reasonably Attainable for Defendant, Sept. 1, 2026
• Connecticut Supreme Court Holds Trial Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Challenge Misleading CSLI GeoTime Video, Sept. 1, 2026
• Michigan Supreme Court Announces Two-Step Test for Mandatory LWOP Imposed for Pre-Aaron Felony Murder, Sept. 1, 2026
• Buried in Plain Sight: How Digital Discovery Turns Disclosure Itself Into Concealment, Aug. 15, 2026

More from these topics:

• Tenth Circuit Announces Resentencing After Probation Revocation Must Begin with Chapter 7 Range, Holding Chapter 5 Range Should Be Considered When Deciding Whether to Vary, Sept. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statement of Reasons, Sentence, Factors To Be Considered.
• Seventh Circuit Announces Generic Conspiracy Under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2 Requires Bilateral Agreement, Holding Indiana Conspiracy Convictions Cannot Qualify as Crimes of Violence, Sept. 1, 2026. Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Qualifying Offenses, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Predicate Acts/Offenses.
• Relevant Conduct: How Federal Sentencing Law Punishes More Than the Crime of Conviction, Aug. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Plain Error, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts, Relevant Conduct.
• U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Alternative Sentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts, Drug Quantity.
• First Circuit Vacates Drug Courier’s Sentence, Holding District Court Erred by Failing to Conduct Proper Comparative Culpability Analysis Under § 3B1.2 When It Excluded Other Participants in Drug Shipment From Universe of Comparators, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review, Sentencing Findings, Relevant Conduct.
• Sixth Circuit Announces Federal Coercion and Enticement Statute Requires Knowledge of Victim’s Minor Status, Deepening Circuit Split, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
• 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.
• U.S. Jails Hold 52,000 Detainees for Nothing More than “Failure to Appear”, March 1, 2026. Criminal justice system reform, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Bail/Pretrial Release, Arrest/Arraignment.
• 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.