More from this issue:

1. Zombie Forensics: Discredited Science Stalking the Courtroom, by Chuck Sharman
2. New Jersey Supreme Court Announces “Shaking Without Impact” Expert Testimony Inadmissible, Holding Shaken Baby Syndrome Diagnosis Lacks Required General Acceptance Within Biomechanical Engineering Community Under Frye, by David Kim
3. 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, by Douglas Ankney
4. Ninth Circuit Grants Equitable Tolling Under AEDPA Where Attorney Abandoned Prisoner by Failing to Communicate for Nine Months and Prison Officials Delayed Processing Filing Documents, by David Kim
5. Maryland Supreme Court Announces Public Defender Act Requires Effective Assistance of Counsel in Certiorari Petition Where Public Defender Appointed Panel Attorney for Direct Appeal and Certiorari Petition, by Sagi Schwartzberg
6. Ninth Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Plea Agreement’s Factual Basis, Holding Unaccepted “Type A” Plea Agreement Unenforceable to Trigger Waiver of Rule 410 Protections, by Anthony Accurso
7. When AI Invents the Pixels: Challenging AI-Enhanced Video Evidence in Criminal Cases, by Richard Resch
8. Jury Returns Record $80 Million Verdict for Wrongful Conviction Based on DA Misconduct, by Jo Ellen Nott
9. Ninth Circuit Announces Abandonment Doctrine Applies to Cellphones but Courts Must Analyze Intent to Abandon Device Separately From Intent to Abandon Data, by David Kim
10. Seventh Circuit Announces One-Year Time Limit in Rule 35(b) Is Nonjurisdictional Claim-Processing Rule, Overruling Prior Precedent in Light of Supreme Court’s Hamer Decision, by David Kim
11. California Supreme Court Announces Pre-2009 Provocative Act Murder Convictions Are Not Categorically Ineligible for Resentencing Under § 1172.6, by Sagi Schwartzberg
12. Police AI and “Sycophancy”: New Evidence Tools May Tell Cops Exactly What They Want to Hear, by Michael Thompson
13. Mass Surveillance for Profit: Flock’s AI Reports “Suspicious” Movement to Police, by Sagi Schwartzberg
14. SCOTUS Holds Sixth Amendment Requires Case-Specific Necessity Determination to Screen Child Witnesses, Rejecting Reliance on Mandatory State Statutes Based on Generalized Legislative Findings, by Richard Resch
15. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Presentence Confinement on Probation Detainer Must Be Credited to New Sentence Where Same Conduct Triggered Both Detainer and New Charges, by Matthew Clarke
16. The Legal Fight for Homeowner Compensation After SWAT Raids, by Jo Ellen Nott
17. Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Buccal Swab Pursuant to Discovery Order Violates Fourth Amendment, Overrules Inevitable Discovery Precedent, and Clarifies Accomplice-Corroboration Statute Applies Only to Sworn Testimony, by David Kim
18. NEWS IN BRIEF

More from Sagi Schwartzberg:

• California Court of Appeal Finds Trial Court Abused Discretion in Denying Prisoner Compassionate Release and Reverses Order, Oct. 1, 2026
• Eleventh Circuit Revives Pro Se Litigant’s § 1983 Lawsuit Despite His Three Strike Status Under the PLRA, Oct. 1, 2026
• Iowa Department of Corrections Settles Lawsuit and Agrees to Implement More Reliable Drug Testing Procedures and Fair Disciplinary Proceeding Policies, Oct. 1, 2026
• South Dakota Supreme Court Affirms Prisoner’s Simple Assault on Guard Conviction Despite Four-Second Skip in Surveillance Video Footage, Oct. 1, 2026
• Hawaii Supreme Court Announces State Constitution Requires Law Enforcement to Record All Custodial Interrogations, Overruling Three-Decade-Old Precedent and Recognizing New Due Process Right, March 1, 2026
• Washington Supreme Court Holds Courts Must Meaningfully Consider Youth When Assessing Miranda Waiver and Clarifies That Res Gestae Exception Requires Temporal Proximity to Charged Crime, Feb. 1, 2026
• Flock’s Gunshot Sensors Are Expanding to “Distress” Sounds, Feb. 1, 2026
• Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Division of Correction Must Immediately Apply Time-Served Credit Against Valid Sentences When Convictions Are Vacated and May Not Toll Execution Pending Reprosecution; New Sentences Arising From New Convictions Take, Jan. 1, 2026
• Maryland Supreme Court Announces Public Defender Act Requires Effective Assistance of Counsel in Certiorari Petition Where Public Defender Appointed Panel Attorney for Direct Appeal and Certiorari Petition, Dec. 15, 2025
• California Supreme Court Announces Pre-2009 Provocative Act Murder Convictions Are Not Categorically Ineligible for Resentencing Under § 1172.6, Dec. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• South Dakota Supreme Court Affirms Prisoner’s Simple Assault on Guard Conviction Despite Four-Second Skip in Surveillance Video Footage, Oct. 1, 2026. Jury Instructions, Double jeopardy, Failure to Object, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Denial of Due Process.
• $4,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Requests, Oct. 1, 2026. Damages, Retroactivity, Public Records Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ends Mandatory Life Without Parole Sentence for Felony Murder, Sept. 1, 2026. Life without Parole (LWOP), Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Murder/Felony Murder, Mandatory Minimum Sentence.
• Federal Habeas Quick Reference Guide for State Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Cause and Prejudice.
• 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.
• 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.
• California Supreme Court Announces Failure to Challenge Ambiguous Jury Instructions on Imputed Malice in a Prior Direct Appeal Does Not Categorically Bar Resentencing Relief Under Penal Code § 1172.6, June 1, 2026. Procedural Default/Error, Preservation of Appellate Rights/Issues, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Accessories and Accomplices.
• Oregon Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must Give Complete Oral Final Jury Instructions at Conclusion of Trial, Preliminary Instructions Cannot Substitute for the ORCP 59 B Charge, May 1, 2026. Jury Instructions, Jury Instructions in Jury Room, Grounds for Relief, Denial of Due Process, Right to Testify/Remain Silent.
• California Supreme Court Announces § 189(e)(2) Requires Nonkiller to Aid the Actual Killer in the Lethal Act, Resolving Appellate Split, May 1, 2026. Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Essential Elements of Crime, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Accessories and Accomplices.
• 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.