More from this issue:

1. Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, by Dale Chappell
2. Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, by Casey Bastian
3. Los Angeles Criminal Legal System Undermined 
by Months of Faulty DNA Testing, by Jo Ellen Nott
4. Fourth Circuit: District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Explanation for Sentence Imposed and Did Not Address Defendant’s Arguments for Downward Variant Sentence, by David Reutter
5. Maryland Reforms Offer Second Chances on Expungement and Parole, by Jo Ellen Nott
6. Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Determining Whether a Defendant Is Entitled to Jury Instructions 
on Self-defense and Defense of Others, by Douglas Ankney
7. First Circuit Announces What Constitutes ‘Otherwise Using’ 
a Dangerous Weapon for Purposes of the Four-Level 
Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2B3.1(a), by Sagi Schwartzberg
8. Car Subscriptions: Another Means of Mass Surveillance by Law Enforcement, by David Kim
9. The Crushing Toll of Ohio’s Death Penalty: A Billion-Dollar Failure, by David Kim
10. Illinois Supreme Court: Use of Flashlight by Police to See Through Small Gap in Chained and Padlocked Kitchen Cabinet Doors Constitutes ‘Search’ Under Fourth Amendment, by Jeffrey Cohen
11. Illinois ‘Murderer’ Registry Punishes More Than It Protects, by Jo Ellen Nott
12. Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity 
Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon, by Anthony Accurso
13. Rhode Island Supreme Court Announces Indigent First-Time Applicant for Postconviction Relief Entitled to Counsel Even 
When Not Requested; Superior Court Must Determine 
Whether Applicant Intended to Waive Right to Counsel and 
Whether Done Knowingly, Vol, by Phillip Wasserman, J.D.
14. SCOTUS Announces Knowingly or Intentionally Causing 
Bodily Injury or Death by ‘Omission’ Necessarily Involves 
‘Use’ of ‘Physical Force’ for Purposes of § 924(c), by David Kim
15. Blindfolded Juries, Coerced Convictions: 
Why Prosecutors Often Win Before Trials Even Begin, by Clark Neily
16. Facial Recognition at the Border: CBP’s Push to Scan Every Car Passenger Sparks Privacy Concerns, by David Kim
17. Bipartisan Legislative Wins in Virginia and Utah Expand 
Job Opportunities for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals, by Jo Ellen Nott
18. South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Traditional 
Four-Element Standard for When Person Has Right 
to Use Deadly Force in Self-Defense Not Applicable 
to Non-Deadly Force Self-Defense Analysis, by Richard Resch
19. Fingerprints as New Drug-Detection Method, by James Mills
20. Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Convictions, 
Holding Multiple Errors by State Resulted in ‘Legal Chaos’ 
That Deprived Defendant of Right to Fair Trial 
Under ‘Cumulative-Error Doctrine’, by Jeffrey Cohen
21. SCOTUS Announces Rejection of ‘Moment-of-Threat 
Doctrine’ Because It Improperly Narrows Required 
‘Totality of the Circumstances’ Analysis for Fourth 
Amendment Excessive-Force Claims, by David Kim
22. ‘Sexome’ Bacteria Offers New Path to Justice 
in Sexual Assault Cases Where 
DNA Is Not Present, by Jo Ellen Nott
23. Georgia Eliminates Legal Standard That Sent Intellectually Disabled Prisoners to Death Row, by David Kim
24. SCOTUS Announces Only ‘False’ Statements Made to FDIC 
Are Criminalized Under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, Not Statements 
That Are ‘Misleading’ but True, by Richard Resch
25. News in Brief

More from Sagi Schwartzberg:

• 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, Aug. 1, 2025
• Third Circuit: No ‘Constructive Possession’ of Firearm Discovered in Trunk of Vehicle Six Months After Defendant’s Arrest, 
During Which Time He Was Incarcerated and Vehicle Impounded in Tow Lot Whose Sole Security Feature Was a Locked Gate, July 1, 2025
• 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
• California Court of Appeal Issues Writ of Mandate 
Directing Superior Court to Hold Evidentiary Hearing 
Under State’s Racial Justice Act, Ruling Defendant 
Provided Sufficient Evidence to Establish Prima Facie 
Claim of Implicit Bias by San Diego Police, July 1, 2025
• First Circuit Announces What Constitutes ‘Otherwise Using’ 
a Dangerous Weapon for Purposes of the Four-Level 
Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2B3.1(a), May 15, 2025
• Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, April 15, 2025
• Ninth Circuit Grants Stay and Abeyance of Federal Habeas Petition to Allow Petitioner to Exhaust State Remedies, April 15, 2025
• 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, April 15, 2025
• Nebraska Supreme Court Announces ‘Working Days’ for Purposes of ‘Temporary Domicile’ SORA Reporting Requirement Means Weekdays, Excluding Legal Holidays, and Reverses Conviction for Failure to Register, March 15, 2025
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Commonwealth Must Prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Offender Knew of SORNA Registration Obligations for Failure to Register Conviction, March 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• 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.
• Summary of the 2025 Drug Offenses Amendment 
by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Methamphetamine, Drug Mule, Machine Guns, Safety Valve.
• 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.
• ACLU Sues BOP Over Failure to Implement First Step Act Release Credits, May 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
• 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, April 15, 2025. Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Joint Participant, Scope/Standard of Review.
• Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, April 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Bank Fraud/Robbery/Theft, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Eligibility for Parole.
• Fifth Circuit Announces Definition of ‘Controlled Substance’ in Effect at Time of Current Sentencing Applies for Purposes of Career-Offender Enhancement, Not Definition at Time of Prior Sentencings, March 15, 2025. Controlled Substances, Career Offenders, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• California Court of Appeal Vacates Sentence Where Trial Court Imposed Sentence Under ‘One Strike’ Enhancement Statute Enacted After Crimes Were Committed, March 15, 2025. Battered Child/Spouse Evidence, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Sexual Abuse/Harrassment/Exploitation.
• Virginia Parole Board Skirts New Transparency Rules, Governor Walks Back Expanded Sentence Credits—Again, March 1, 2025. Local Rules, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Credits.