More from this issue:

1. California Court of Appeal Announces Youthful Defendants Sentenced to Terms ‘Functionally Equivalent’ to LWOP Entitled to Resentencing Under § 1170(d), by Sam Rutherford
2. Maryland Supreme Court Clarifies Process for Admitting Co-Conspirator’s Hearsay Statements During Police Interview Under ‘Declaration Against Penal Interest’ Exception, Trial Court Must ‘Parse’ Interview to Determine Admissibility of Each Statement, by Sam Rutherford
3. Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, by Dale Chappell
4. Ninth Circuit Announces ‘Hate Crime’ Sentence Enhancement Under Guidelines § 3A1.1(a) Requires Finding Defendant Motivated by Hate or Animus, by Sam Rutherford
5. Surveilling the Harms of Electronic Monitors, by Michael Thompson
6. The Murky Waters of Parole, by David Reutter
7. Careful What You Search For, by Michael Thompson
8. Study Highlights Limitations in Forensic DNA Analysis Involving Lower Genetic Diversity Groups, by Jo Ellen Nott
9. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Trial Court Must Conduct Inquiry Whether Defendant Knowingly and Voluntarily Waived Right to Counsel at ‘Any Stage of a Case,’ Including Arraignment or Plea Hearing, by Sam Rutherford
10. Ninth Circuit: Defense Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Move to Suppress Evidence Obtained as a Result of Police Officer Trespassing on Curtilage of Defendant’s Home, by Sam Rutherford
11. New AI Tool Harnesses Microbiomes for Forensic and Medical Breakthroughs, by Jo Ellen Nott
12. Ninth Circuit Announces California Assault With Deadly Weapon Conviction Not ‘Crime of Violence’ for Career Offender Enhancement Under Sentencing Guidelines, by Sam Rutherford
13. California Court of Appeal Strikes Prison Prior Enhancement for Invalid Predicate Offense Under § 1172.75 Despite Concurrently Served Valid Predicate, by Sam Rutherford
14. Illinois Supreme Court Announces Odor of Burnt Cannabis Alone Is Insufficient to Establish Probable Cause for a Warrantless Vehicle Search, by Anthony Accurso
15. First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners, by Jo Ellen Nott
16. Eleventh Circuit: Asylee’s Florida Convictions for Marijuana Possession and Lewd and Lascivious Battery Do Not Warrant Removal Under INA, by Sam Rutherford
17. Minnesota Supreme Court Announces No Duty to Retreat When Using Reasonable Force in Defense of Another and Provides Framework for Analyzing Such Claims, by Douglas Ankney
18. Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints, by Anthony Accurso
19. Vermont Supreme Court Eliminates Year-and-a-Day Rule in Murder Prosecutions, by Sam Rutherford
20. Chicago’s Police Body Cam Transparency, by Michael Thompson
21. Ninth Circuit Announces ‘Clear Error’ Review Applies to District Courts’ Factual Findings for Brady Challenges and Affirms District Court’s Mid-Trial Order Excluding Witness Testimony and Imposing Monetary Sanctions for Government’s Brady Violation, by Sam Rutherford
22. Federal Facial Recognition Technology Fails Again, by Michael Thompson
23. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Admits Over 1,000 Cases Affected by DNA Test Misconduct, by James Mills
24. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Habeas Relief in ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case, by Sam Rutherford
25. News in Brief
26. Seeking Justice for Two: The DNA Scandal That Shook a Community

More from Sam Rutherford:

• 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
• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants May Obtain Brady Evidence From Police Officers’ Personnel Files in Advance of § 1172.6 Hearing Requesting Vacatur of Conviction and Resentencing for Certain Types of Murder Convictions, Feb. 15, 2025
• Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• Mississippi Supreme Court: Defendant’s Guilty Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Because He Was Not Informed of His Habitual Offender Status, Dec. 1, 2024. Resentencing, De Facto Career Offender, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.
• Ninth Circuit Denies Habeas Relief to Prisoner Who Invoked Fifth Amendment Right to Counsel During Custodial Interrogation but Made Incriminating Statements to Undercover Informant Posing as Fellow Prisoner Because Right to Counsel Not Violated, Nov. 1, 2024. Habeas Corpus, Custodial Interrogations/Statements, Counsel - Right to.
• Tenth Circuit: Counsel Advising Black Defendant No Minorities Would Be on Jury Is Material Misrepresentation About Right to Impartial Jury Rendering Guilty Plea Unknowing and Involuntary, Aug. 1, 2024. Juries - Fair and Impartial, Racial Bias Exception, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.
• First Circuit: Defendant Did Not Understand Consequences of Guilty Plea Because District Court and Counsel Led Him to Reasonably Believed Plea Agreement Would Result in Sentence Below Applicable Mandatory Minimum, June 15, 2024. Consequences of Plea, Awareness of Consequences, Credits, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.
• Tenth Circuit: Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Where Plea Counsel Materially Misrepresented Defendant’s Right to Impartial Jury Selected Through Racially Nondiscriminatory Means, May 15, 2024. Juries - Fair and Impartial, Impartial Jury, Fair Cross Section Requirement, Consequences of Plea, Misleading Advice/Statements to Defendant, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.
• Fourth Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Discovery and Evidentiary Hearing on § 2255 Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea Because It Was Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Made, March 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Police/Govt Misconduct, Plea Bargaining, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.
• U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence, Jan. 15, 2024. AEDPA, Procedural Default/Error, Proving Cause, Capital Cases, Procedural Error, Effective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Right to, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness, Right to Counsel.
• After Mississippi Supreme Court Announcement, Courts Unprepared to Ensure Poor Defendants Have a Lawyer Throughout the Criminal Process, Dec. 15, 2023. Appointment of Counsel, Counsel - Right to.
• New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Retain Common Law Jurisdictional Authority to Correct Illegal Sentences, Allows Defendant to Withdraw Plea After Sentence Correction Involving Additional Parole Time, Nov. 1, 2023. Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.
• Fourth Circuit Announces Rehaif Applies to All § 922(g) Firearms-Possession Offenses and Applies Retroactively to Initial § 2255 Motions, June 15, 2023. Firearms Owners' Protection Act, Possession or Use of Firearms, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.