More from this issue:

1. Swabbed at Booking, Searched for Life: How Pre-Conviction DNA Collection Built a Genetic Mass Surveillance System, by David Kim
2. Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, by David Reutter
3. No Blood, No Proof: Study Challenges Post-Cleanup DNA Evidence, by Jo Ellen Nott
4. 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, by Douglas Ankney
5. Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, by David Reutter
6. Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies Parole Board May Delegate Final Revocation Hearings to Administrative Law Judges but Holds Due Process Requires Parolees Be Permitted to File Exceptions to ALJ Findings Before Board Renders a Final Revocation Decision, by Douglas Ankney
7. Six Years of the First Step Act: Federal Prison Data Reveal Treatment Gains, Persistent Disparities, and Unanswered Questions, by Richard Resch
8. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Amending Indictment to Change Subsections of Aggravated Child Rape Statute Constitutes an Impermissible Substantive Amendment, by David Kim
9. Colorado Supreme Court Announces Defendant Must Be Competent Before Undergoing Mental-Condition Examination Under § 16-8-107(3)(b), by David Reutter
10. New York Court of Appeals Holds Generic Physical Description Insufficient to Justify Pursuit in Mistaken Identity Case, and Suspect’s Flight Cannot Support Reasonable Suspicion Absent Evidence He Knew He Was Fleeing Law Enforcement, by Douglas Ankney
11. Oregon Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 9, of State Constitution Protects Privacy in Internet Browsing Conducted Over Public Wi-Fi Networks, by David Kim
12. California Court of Appeal Announces Plea Agreements Cannot Bar § 1172.1 Resentencing, Holds Merit-Based Denial of Petition Is Appealable, by David Reutter
13. New Study Exposes Reliability Gap in Traditional Time-of-Death Methods, by Jo Ellen Nott
14. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Mandatory Life Without Parole for Felony Murder Unconstitutional Under State Constitution, Holding Article I, Section 13 Provides Broader Protections Than Eighth Amendment, by Richard Resch
15. 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, by David Kim
16. SCOTUS Unanimously Announces Heck Does Not Bar §1983 Suits Seeking Purely Prospective Relief, Resolving Circuit Split Over Whether a Prior Conviction Precludes a Forward-Looking Constitutional Challenge to the Statute of Conviction, by Richard Resch
17. SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, by David Kim
18. Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies That Failure to Object to Ineligible Juror Does Not Constitute Waiver Unless Party Knew or Could Have Discovered Ineligibility Through Ordinary Diligence, by David Reutter
19. Montana Supreme Court Holds Defendant’s Sentence Must Be Vacated Where District Court Premised Sentence on Defendant’s Exercise of Constitutional Rights to Jury Trial, Silence, and Against Self-Incrimination, by Douglas Ankney
20. News In Brief

More from Richard Resch:

• Barred Before the Merits: A Federal Prisoner’s Guide to Federal Habeas Relief, Oct. 15, 2026
• Formally Available, Rarely Granted: A State Prisoner’s Guide to Federal Habeas Relief, Sept. 1, 2026
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Postconviction Forensic Testing Statute Permits Digital Forensic Analysis of Cellphones, Holding Chapter 278A Not Limited to Tangible Evidence Testable for Biological Material, Aug. 1, 2026
• Relevant Conduct: How Federal Sentencing Law Punishes More Than the Crime of Conviction, Aug. 1, 2026
• New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Article II, Section 10 Exclusionary Rule Governs Admissibility of Evidence Seized Outside State by Non-New Mexico Officers, Aug. 1, 2026
• Surveillance for Sale: The Data Broker Loophole and the Fourth Amendment After Chatrie, July 1, 2026
• Retroactive Guideline Amendments: The Narrow Path to a Federal Sentence Reduction, July 1, 2026
• SCOTUS Announces Accessing Google Location History Data Constitutes a Fourth Amendment Search, Holding That Neither Brief Duration Nor Third-Party Storage Negates Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Cellphone Location Information, July 1, 2026
• Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026
• U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible, Oct. 1, 2026. Food, Life without Parole (LWOP), Age, Reduction of Prison Population.
• 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.
• Michigan Supreme Court Announces Two-Step Test for Mandatory LWOP Imposed for Pre-Aaron Felony Murder, Sept. 1, 2026. Life without Parole (LWOP), Sixth Amendment, Constitution, state, Cause and Prejudice, Elements of Offense.
• 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. Constitution, state, After Request for Counsel, Police Interrogations, Custodial Interrogations, Invocation of Rights.
• 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. Forensic Sciences, Constitution, state, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
• 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. Constitution, state, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Pending Appeal/Sentencing.
• Florida Supreme Court Announces District Courts of Appeal Have Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Downward Departure Sentence, Holding Sentencing Order Is Final Order Appealable as Matter of Right, Aug. 1, 2026. Constitution, state, Appealable Issues/Orders, Abuse of Discretion Standard, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026. Court Access, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Counsel - Right to, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions.
• California Supreme Court Limits Money Bail for Nonviolent Charges, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Due Process, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Pretrial Detention and Detainees.
• Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Wrongful Use of Force.