More from this issue:

1. Beyond Geofence Warrants: Chatrie, Reverse-Location Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment Fight Over Digital Dragnets, by Richard Resch
2. New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Historical CSLI Must Be Presented Through Expert Testimony, Rejecting Lay Mapping of Cell-Tower Locations Because Interpreting CSLI Requires Technical and Specialized Knowledge Beyond “Ken” of Average Juror, by David Kim
3. First Circuit Vacates Drug Courier’s Sentence, Holding District Court Erred by Failing to Conduct Proper Comparative Culpability Analysis Under § 3B1.2 When It Excluded Other Participants in Drug Shipment From Universe of Comparators, by David M. Reutter
4. Chronotype Mismatch as an Emerging Vulnerability Factor in Custodial Confessions, by David Kim
5. Fourth Circuit Announces Defendant Has Standing to Appeal Based Solely on Rogers–Singletary Claim of a “Material Discrepancy Between” Written and Orally Articulated Judgment at Sentencing, by Douglas Ankney
6. 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, by David Kim
7. Sixth Circuit Announces Federal Coercion and Enticement Statute Requires Knowledge of Victim’s Minor Status, Deepening Circuit Split, by Douglas Ankney
8. Colorado Supreme Court Holds Prosecutor’s Interlocutory Appeal of Evidentiary Ruling Lacked Arguable Merit, Did Not Toll Speedy Trial Deadline, and Violated Defendant’s Right to Speedy Trial, by David Kim
9. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Grand Jury No-Bill Terminated Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel, Clarifies Frye Exception, by David Kim
10. Fourth Circuit Holds Officer’s Firearms Questioning at Outset of Traffic Stop Exceeded Permissible Scope Where Officer Abandoned Stop’s Purpose From Inception and Totality of Circumstances Did Not Support Officer-Safety Justification, by David Kim
11. Uncounted COVID Deaths Reveal a Troubling Truth About Official Death Records, by Jo Ellen Nott
12. The Recycled Police Officer: Research Reveals High Cost of Ignoring Prior Misconduct, by Jo Ellen Nott
13. California Supreme Court Announces § 189(e)(2) Requires Nonkiller to Aid the Actual Killer in the Lethal Act, Resolving Appellate Split, by David Kim
14. Colorado Limits the Use of Faulty Field Drug Tests, by Jo Ellen Nott
15. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces That Warrantless-Arrest Statutes Conditioning Authority on an Offense Within an Officer’s “Presence or View” Require Actual Contemporaneous Sensory Perception, by David Kim
16. Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Due Process Risks of Automated Traffic Enforcement, by Jo Ellen Nott
17. Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Strickland Governs Collateral Claims That Defense Counsel Prevented Defendant From Testifying, by David Kim
18. Delaware Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ABA Standard 3-6.5(b) Governing Prosecutors’ Opening Statements, Reverses Murder Convictions Based on Prosecutor’s References to Co-Defendant’s Guilty Plea, by Douglas Ankney
19. Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Extension of Brady Obligations to Same-Office Impeachment Evidence, by David Kim
20. NEWS IN BRIEF

More from Douglas Ankney:

• The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026
• California Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-Circumstances Framework Focused on Defendant’s Subjective Understanding Under § 1473.7(a)(1), Holding Immigration Consequences Advisement Is Relevant but Not Dispositive, Oct. 1, 2026
• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Conflicting Affidavits About Plea Acceptance Require Evidentiary Hearing on Ineffective-Assistance Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Vacates Award of Costs to Prison Officials, Revives Prisoner’s Claim Alleging Denial of Access to Functioning Toilets and Exposure to Other Prisoners’ Feces, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions, Holding Requirement That Defendant Testify Before Displaying Hand Tattoos Violates Fifth Amendment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026
• Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026. Different Judge, Statement of Reasons, Plain Error, Reasonableness of Sentence, Self-Incrimination Clause.
• Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, Aug. 1, 2026. Interlocutory Appeals, Prejudice - Potential for Undue, Fair Trial, Witnesses - Examination of, Criminal Records.
• Relevant Conduct: How Federal Sentencing Law Punishes More Than the Crime of Conviction, Aug. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Plain Error, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts, Relevant Conduct.
• California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026. Disciplinary Hearings, Due Process, Procedural Default/Error, Evidence - Admissibility, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Louisiana Republicans Eliminate Elected Office Won by Exonerated Ex-Prisoner, July 1, 2026. Discrimination, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Public Trial, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Fair Trial.
• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026. Sixth Amendment, Counsel - Constructive denial of, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Grounds for Relief.
• Second Circuit Clarifies Limits on Sentencing Court’s Use of Unrelated Co-Defendant Conduct as § 3553(a) “Context”, June 1, 2026. Statement of Reasons, Plain Error, Factors To Be Considered, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts, Relevant Conduct.
• 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, June 1, 2026. Revocation Proceedings, Plain Error, Reasonableness of Sentence, Factors To Be Considered.
• Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Wrongful Conviction, DNA Evidence, Evidence - Admissibility, Claim of Innocence.
• Records Show Culture of Impunity Among Kentucky Prison Guards, May 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Whistleblowing, Evidence - Admissibility.