More from this issue:

1. Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, by Richard Resch
2. Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Heightened Voluntariness Inquiry Required for Contingent Guilty Pleas and Holds Plea Withdrawal Is the Proper Remedy When District Court Fails to Probe Coercion Risk, by David M. Reutter
3. Second Circuit Clarifies Limits on Sentencing Court’s Use of Unrelated Co-Defendant Conduct as § 3553(a) “Context”, by David Kim
4. Florida Supreme Court Announces “Results” of Postconviction DNA Testing Under § 925.11 Include Underlying Testing Data Necessary for Expert Analysis, Holding That No Additional Burden Applies Once a Motion for Testing Has Been Granted, by David M. Reutter
5. U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, by Richard Resch
6. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Calling Known Recalcitrant Witness Before Jury Constitutes Reversible Error and Prosecutorial Misconduct Regardless of Whether Witness Expressly Invokes Fifth Amendment Privilege, Qualifying Contrary Precedent, by David M. Reutter
7. Fifth Circuit Announces Enhanced Supervised Release Provision Under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(k) Does Not Apply to Assimilative Crimes Act Offenses, Limiting Statutory Maximum to Five Years Under § 3583(b), by Douglas Ankney
8. California Court of Appeal: Vehicle Impoundment Solely to Prevent Further Unlicensed Driving Does Not Satisfy Fourth Amendment’s Community Caretaking Exception; Statutory Authorization Alone Insufficient to Establish Constitutional Reasonableness, by Douglas Ankney
9. Ninth Circuit Announces Remmer Presumption of Prejudice Governs When Racially Biased Juror Participates in Deliberations but Is Excused Before Trial Court Accepts Verdict, by David Kim
10. Sixth Circuit Announces Predetermining a Supervisee’s Revocation Term of Imprisonment at an Earlier Violation Hearing Renders the Resulting Sentence Both Procedurally and Substantively Unreasonable, by Douglas Ankney
11. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Framework for Evaluating Delayed Traffic Stops Under Article 14, Holding 24-Hour Gap Between Observed Infraction and Vehicle Stop Was Unreasonable, by Douglas Ankney
12. 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, by David Kim
13. South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Penile Plethysmograph Results Are Inadmissible Until Underlying Science Becomes Standardized, Affirming Reversal of Sexually Violent Predator Commitment, by David Kim
14. Fourth Circuit Announces ICE’s Execution of a Removal Warrant Following a Final Removal Order Does Not Constitute a “Pending Proceeding” Under 18 U.S.C. § 1505, Vacating Noncitizen’s Obstruction Conviction in Issue of First Impression, by Douglas Ankney
15. SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Disparities Created by Nonretroactive Statutory Amendments Cannot Constitute Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons for Compassionate Release, by Richard Resch
16. The Constitution for Sale: FBI Confirms Resumption of Data Broker Dragnets, by Jo Ellen Nott
17. 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:

• South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Formal Adoption of Fourth Circuit’s Three-Step Cheek Framework for Evaluating Improper Third-Party Contacts With Jurors Under Remmer, Reverses Murdaugh Murder Convictions, and Overrules Ethier Regarding Juror Testim, July 1, 2026. Sixth Amendment, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Impartial Jury, Jury Deliberations, Juror Misconduct Issues.
• SCOTUS Holds Mississippi Supreme Court Unreasonably Applied Batson and Unreasonably Found Waiver Where Trial Court Skipped Third Step of Inquiry, July 1, 2026. AEDPA, Preservation of Appellate Rights/Issues, Equal Protection Clause/Claims, Batson Claims, Bias/Discrimination.
• Eleventh Circuit Overturns 1990 Alabama Death Sentence Over Racially Biased Jury Selection; ACLU Report Shows It Is Still Happening, Nov. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty, Batson Claims, Racial Bias Exception.
• Class Incarceration Has Become a Prominent Factor 
in Mass Incarceration, July 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, Racial Profiling, Racial/Ethnic Bias/Profiling, Bias/Discrimination, Police Bias, Disproportionality.
• Reining in Police Monitoring of Social Media, Feb. 15, 2025. Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Racial/Ethnic Bias/Profiling, Social Media, Racial Bias Exception.
• Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background, Feb. 15, 2025. Criminal Prosecution, Juror Bias, Impartial Jury.
• Sixth Circuit Announces Ohio’s Standard for Judicial Bias Contrary to Clearly Established Federal Law, Holds Trial Judge Unconstitutionally Biased in Capital Case and Defendant Denied Right to Present Mitigating Evidence, Grants Habeas Relief, Dec. 15, 2024. Murder/Felony Murder, Bias/Discrimination, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
• DNA Databases, Privacy Concerns, and Noble Cause Bias, Sept. 1, 2024. junk science, DNA Evidence, Bias/Discrimination.
• 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.
• 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.