Archive: 2023
October
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Police Misconduct Reform: Forcing Police Officers to Have ‘Skin in the Game’ by Creating Financial Incentives with Insurance Premiums
(p 1) -
Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentencing Factors
(p 14) -
Database Containing 450,000 Records of NYPD Misconduct Now Available
(p 16) -
Closed Circuit Cameras: Not the Objective Lenses We’re Told
(p 16) -
Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Have Discretion to Consider Non-Retroactive Changes in Post-Sentencing Decisional Law in Assessing ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons’ for Sentence Reduction
(p 17) -
New Tool Used by Police to Improve Interviewing Skills
(p 18) -
New York Court of Appeals Suppresses Evidence Because Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion Necessary for Level 3 Stop and Frisk Under De Bour Framework
(p 18) -
Kansas Supreme Court: Defendants May File a Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence in Appellate Court While on Direct Review
(p 19) -
U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-2022
(p 20) -
SCOTUS Announces Pending Investigation or Proceeding Is Not Required for an Offense to be ‘Related to Obstruction of Justice’ and Qualify as ‘Aggravated Felony’ in Removal of Noncitizen
(p 22) -
We’re All Suspects in a DNA Lineup, Waiting to be Matched with a Crime
(p 24) -
California Supreme Court Vacates Second Degree Murder Conviction Where Jury Instructed on Now Invalid Felony-Murder Theory
(p 28) -
U.S. Supreme Court Announces § 2255(e)’s ‘Saving Clause’ Does Not Enable Prisoners to File § 2241 Petition Based on AEDPA’s Rule Against Second or Successive § 2255 Motions
(p 30) -
‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants
(p 31) -
Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun
(p 32) -
California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Abused Discretion in Failing to Recall Terminally Ill Prisoner’s Sentence Following CDCR’s Recommendation for Compassionate Release
(p 34) -
American Bar Association’s 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report
(p 36) -
Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas Petition Where District Court Failed to Review Magistrate’s Report De Novo After Characterizing Petitioner’s Objections as ‘Attempt to Reargue Case’
(p 38) -
D.C. Circuit Orders New Trial Due to Brady Violations Involving Source of Information, Not Withholding of Information Itself
(p 40) -
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Granting Motion for New Trial Because ‘Verdict Is Contrary to Law and Evidence,’ Without Further Explanation, Bars Retrial
(p 41) -
Third Circuit Vacates Possession of Cocaine Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence to Support Weight Element
(p 42) -
How the Backdoor Loophole Enables the FBI to Search Your Communications Without a Warrant
(p 43) -
Ninth Circuit Announces No Deference to Application Note 1 to Guideline § 4B1.2(b) Because It Impermissibly Expands Definition of ‘Controlled Substance Offense’
(p 45) -
Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review
(p 46) -
Digital Voiceprinting Is Not Ready for Court
(p 47) -
Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Mansor Ruling for Search Warrants for Digital Data and Announces Framework for Suppression When Warrant Contains Both Constitutional and Unconstitutional Search Categories
(p 48) -
News in Brief
(p 50)
September
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Geofence Warrants: Little-Known Search Makes Innocent People Suspects Simply for Having a Phone Near a Crime Scene
(p 1) -
What’s ‘Sufficient’ Rehabilitation for Compassionate Release?
(p 13) -
Interrogating a Suspect With an Intellectual Disability Using the Reid Technique: Recipe for a False Confession
(p 15) -
Forensic Benefits of a Body Farm Facility
(p 17) -
Police Can Get More From Your Phone Than You May Believe
(p 18) -
Surveilling AI’s Big Moment
(p 18) -
Wyoming Supreme Court Reverses ‘Contempt of Cop’ Conviction Because Police Were Not Lawfully Performing Their Official Duties
(p 19) -
Sixth Circuit Suppresses Evidence Obtained as a Result of Warrant That Lacked Probable Cause of Criminal Activity in Arson Investigation
(p 20) -
Arizona Blowfly Database Develops Empirical Support for Time of Death Estimation
(p 21) -
California Court of Appeal Reverses Felony Murder Conviction Because Evidence Insufficient to Support Underlying Predicate Felony of Attempted Robbery
(p 22) -
Biased Algorithms Are Still a Problem
(p 23) -
Probation Sentences Capped in Minnesota
(p 23) -
The Two Faces of the FBI and DOD Facial Recognition Program
(p 24) -
New York Court of Appeals: Constitutional Prohibition Against Restraining Defendant Without Explanation Remains in Force During Announcement of Verdict and Polling of Jurors
(p 25) -
No Discipline for NYPD Officers Who Deface License Plates in Apparent Attempt to Evade Tickets
(p 25) -
New York City’s DNA Gun Crimes Unit Reduces Turnaround Times for Gun Crimes by Half
(p 26) -
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Casts Nearly 30,000 DUI Convictions in Doubt Due to ‘Egregious Government Misconduct’
(p 26) -
The Serious Threat of Cell-Site Simulators
(p 28) -
Second Circuit Vacates § 924 Convictions Predicated on Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery
(p 30) -
New Study Proposes Biological Reasons May Cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
(p 31) -
Law Enforcement Using Technology That Accesses Live Video From Any Camera Connected to the Internet
(p 31) -
Mississippi Ends ‘Dead Zone’
(p 32) -
New Service Highlights Cellphone Privacy Issues
(p 32) -
Report Finds Older Prisoners in Maryland Are Less Likely to Be Paroled
(p 34) -
‘Lab in a Box’ Provides DNA Results in Minutes
(p 34) -
New Robotic Cops Patrolling in NYC
(p 35) -
Supreme Court of California: After Amendments to Three Strikes Law, Courts Retain Concurrent Sentencing Discretion for Qualifying Offenses Committed on Same Occasion or Arising From Same Operative Facts
(p 36) -
New York Court of Appeals: Call Intercepted on Wiretap Not Exempt From Statutory Notice Requirements Simply Because Same Call Captured on Separate, Consensual Recording by Jail
(p 38) -
Fourth Circuit Denies Defendant Faced ‘Classic Penalty Situation’ During Polygraph Questioning While on Supervised Release
(p 39) -
Seventh Circuit: Whether Right to Counsel ‘Attaches’ Is Not Dependent on Defendant’s Appearance at Probable Cause Hearing
(p 40) -
Sixth Circuit Holds Bump Stocks Not Regulated Under Machinegun Statute
(p 41) -
New Jersey Supreme Court: Third-Party’s Apparent Authority to Consent to Search Premises Does Not Extend to Defendant’s Personal Property Located on Premises
(p 42) -
Travis County, Texas, Efforts to Keep Mentally Ill Individuals Out of Jail Face Funding, Infrastructure, and Information Management Challenges
(p 44) -
Third Circuit: Pennsylvania Second-Degree Aggravated Assault of a Protected Individual Not a ‘Violent Felony’ Under ACCA, Court Acknowledges ‘Bizarre Result’
(p 45) -
From the Sad but True Files: Police Oppose Laws Prohibiting Cops From Lying to Juveniles During Interrogations
(p 46) -
Colorado Supreme Court Clarifies There Is No Per Se Rule Excluding Self-Serving Hearsay
(p 47) -
Collaborative Project Between Innocence Project and National Registry of Exonerations Produces Interim Report Reconciling Data Coding Discrepancies
(p 48) -
New Montana Law Bans Warrantless Facial Recognition Surveillance
(p 49) -
‘Silos’ Can Keep Police Departments From Knowledge of Extent of Police Abuse and Consequences of That Abuse
(p 50) -
News in Brief
(p 50)
August
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Deceiving Themselves: How Cops’ False Belief in Their Ability to Detect Deception From Nonverbal Cues Leads to Miscarriages of Justice
(p 1) -
New York State Police Are Ramping Up Social Media Surveillance
(p 14) -
Forensic Genetic Genealogy Has Solved 545 Cases – and Counting
(p 15) -
FBI Make-Work Entrapment Schemes: Creating Criminals in Order to Arrest Them
(p 16) -
Colorado Supreme Court Announces That Introducing New Race-Neutral Justifications on Remand Not Permitted in Batson Challenge
(p 18) -
Roadside Drug Tests: Failed Technology From the Failed War on Drugs
(p 20) -
Arizona Supreme Court Announces ‘Person’ in Self-Defense Statute Applies Only to Defendant, Not Victim as Well
(p 23) -
Hawaii Supreme Court: Defendant’s Due Process Rights Violated by Prosecutor
(p 24) -
Second Circuit: Second-Degree Kidnapping Under New York Penal Law § 135.20 Not Categorically a Crime of Violence
(p 25) -
California Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search Parole Condition Does Not Dissipate Taint of Unlawful Detention and Subsequent Search, Suppresses Evidence
(p 26) -
SCOTUS Announces Proper Remedy for Venue and Vicinage Clause Violations Is Retrial in Proper Venue, Not Barring Retrial
(p 28) -
SCOTUS Announces § 924(c)(1)(D)(ii)’s Consecutive Sentence Mandate Not Applicable to § 924(j) Sentences
(p 30) -
Ninth Circuit Announces State Habeas Petition Remains ‘Pending’ for Purposes of AEDPA 1-Year SOL While State Relief Remains Open Regardless of Whether Petitioner Utilizes It
(p 31) -
Seventh Circuit: Postconviction Relief Petition Still Pending in Illinois Court 20 Years After Filing Entitles Petitioner to Seek Federal Habeas Relief Without First Exhausting State Remedies
(p 33) -
Eleventh Circuit Announces Definition of ‘Controlled Substance Offense’ in Guidelines § 4B1.2(b) Does Not Include Inchoate Offenses and Expressly Overrules Precedent Holding to the Contrary
(p 35) -
Kansas Supreme Court Announces Legislature Intended to Tie One Unit of Prosecution to Multiple Items of Drug Paraphernalia Under K.S.A. 2016 Supp. § 21-5709(b)(1) and (b)(2)
(p 37) -
Mississippi Supreme Court: Court of Appeals Improperly Permitted State to Supplement Record on Appeal in Reviewing Habitual Offender Determination
(p 38) -
California Court of Appeal: Counsel and Sentencing Court’s Misadvisement of Plea’s Immigration Consequences Require Relief From Conviction
(p 39) -
Fifth Circuit Announces Statute Prohibiting Firearm Possession by Person Subject to Domestic Violence Restraining Order Is Unconstitutional in Light of Bruen
(p 40) -
Record High Exonerations in 2022
(p 41) -
Your Texts, Emails, and Location Are Available to Law Enforcement, Regardless of How Law-Abiding You Are
(p 42) -
California Supreme Court Announces Proof of First Degree Poison Murder Requires Showing Defendant Deliberately Gave Victim Poison with Intent to Kill or Inflict Injury Likely to Cause Death
(p 43) -
The Daniel Buffington Dilemma: Does His Expert Witness Testimony Satisfy Daubert?
(p 44) -
A Surveillance Scam by Any Other Name Is But a Parasite
(p 45) -
Current Volume of Digital Evidence Challenge the Criminal Justice System to Do Better
(p 45) -
Police Departments Conspire with Boards to Secretly Install License Plate Cameras Without Consent of Residents
(p 46) -
Police Unions Continue Overt and Covert Actions Designed to Weaken Oversight Boards
(p 47) -
Holding Bad Cops Accountable Is the Way Forward in Police Reform
(p 47) -
SCOTUS Announces First Amendment Requires Mens Rea of Recklessness for ‘True Threats’ Conviction
(p 48) -
Did You Know Popular Video Doorbells Are Equipped with Facial Recognition?
(p 49) -
News in Brief
(p 50) -
Research on Persistence of Touch DNA Will Help Investigators Collect More Usable Samples
(p 50)
June
- New English Law Allows Government to View a Year’s Worth of Browsing History from an Individual Approved by a Judge
- Body Camera Footage Captures Fatal Arrest by Three Mississippi Officers
- Former DHS Agent Cut and Pastes Fake DNA Tests Results in Paternity Scandal
- St. Joseph County Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Two Misdemeanors for Driving Drunk at a 100 mph and Carrying Concealed Weapon While Drunk
- Former Supervisor of D.C. Metro PD Intelligence Indicted for Tipping off Leader of Proud Boys About Impending Arrest
- L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Who Sued Over Presence of ‘The Executioners’ Deputy Gang Is Member of Another Deputy Gang Called ‘The Gladiators’
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The Inevitability of Central Bank Digital Currencies and Their Threat to Human Rights
(p 1) -
SCOTUS Announces ‘Right-to-Control’ Theory Not Valid Basis for Liability Under Federal Wire Fraud Statutes
(p 14) -
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Trial Court Deprived Defendant of Opportunity to Present Complete Defense
(p 16) -
SCOTUS: Honest-Services Fraud Jury Instructions Regarding Private Citizen Too Vague
(p 18) -
New Commission in Georgia Will Discipline and Remove Prosecutors Who Are Seen as Not Tough Enough on Crime
(p 19) -
Fifth Circuit: Placing Jacket Within Fenced-In Area of Home in Presence of Police Evidences Clear Intent Not to Abandon It, Warrantless Search Violates Fourth Amendment Rights
(p 20) -
California Court of Appeal Reiterates ‘Three Strikes’ Law Does Not Limit ‘Presentence’ Custody Credits, Defendant Entitled to Credits Calculated Under Penal Code § 4019
(p 21) -
Ninth Circuit: Government’s Inflammatory Arguments in Sentencing Memorandum and at Sentencing Hearing Implicitly Breached Plea Agreement Promise Not to Recommend Sentence in Excess of Low-End Guidelines Range
(p 22) -
Georgia Supreme Court Announces Overruling Longstanding Rule That Anything Filed by Defendant While Represented by Counsel Is Always a ‘Legal Nullity’
(p 24) -
Fourth Circuit: Denial of Motion for Compassionate Release Abuse of Discretion Where District Court Failed to Properly Address Numerous Health Issues, Advanced Age, and Relevant § 3553(a) Factors
(p 26) -
Fourth Circuit Declines to Enforce Appeal Waiver and Procedural Default Excused by ‘Cause and Actual Prejudice,’ Reverses Denial of § 2255 Motion to Vacate § 924(c) Conviction Based on Hobbs Act Conspiracy
(p 27) -
Saul Kassin Probes Dangerous Practices in ‘Duped: Why Innocent People Confess-and Why We Believe Their Confessions’
(p 30) -
Fourth Circuit: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Raise Change in Sentencing Precedent Following Remand
(p 33) -
Fourth Circuit Holds Ineligibility for First Step Act Safety Valve Relief Requires Proof of All Three Listed Criminal History Characteristics Satisfied, Widening Circuit Split
(p 34) -
First Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Based Upward Variant From Sentencing Guidelines Range on New Information Not Already in the Record at the Time of Sentencing
(p 35) -
Indiana Supreme Court: Petitioner Entitled to File Belated Appeal More Than 21 Years After Conviction, Holding He Acted ‘Promptly’
(p 36) -
Fourth Circuit Announces Rehaif Applies to All § 922(g) Firearms-Possession Offenses and Applies Retroactively to Initial § 2255 Motions
(p 37) -
Arkansas Supreme Court Reverses 11 Counts of Possession of Child Pornography Because CGI Images Do Not Depict Image of a Child
(p 38) -
Specialized Police Units Hunt People for ICE
(p 39) -
Banishment: Using an Ancient Solution to Address a Modern Problem
(p 40) -
Police Can Get More From Your Phone Than You May Believe
(p 41) -
Civilian Police With Military Equipment
(p 42) -
Cops Aren’t Just Murdering People With Impunity – They Also Conduct Bogus Traffic Stops
(p 42) -
Inspector General Report: FBI Routinely Abused Access to Private Communications
(p 44) -
New Orleans Authorizes Facial Recognition to Identity Suspects
(p 44) -
Financial Pressure Finally Brings Police Reform
(p 45) -
The ACLU Calls for a Moratorium on Blanket Recording of ALPR Footage
(p 46) -
Police Study Shows That Reform and Effectiveness Are Not Mutually Exclusive
(p 47) -
Police Sketch Bot Arrives
(p 47) -
‘Contagion Effect’ Spreads Brutality Among Police Officers
(p 48) -
Memphis Police Beat Man to Death
(p 49) -
America’s Latest “War on” … Protestors
(p 49) -
Louisiana Jury Selection Illegal According to Recently Passed Bill
(p 50) -
Minnesota Abolishes Life Without Parole for Juveniles
(p 50) -
News in Brief
(p 51)
May
- Secondary DNA Transfer: Little Known Phenomenon That Puts You at a Crime Scene You’ve Never Visited and Places a Murder Weapon You’ve Never Touched in Your Hand
- Maryland Cops Stop People Based on Smell of Pot Despite Being Legal in State, Lawmakers Pass Bill to End Abusive Practice
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ Police Relocation Program Has Lured Officers With Violent Records, Including Charges of Murder, Kidnapping, and Brutality
- Dozens of LA Sheriff’s Deputies Suspected of Gang Membership Ordered to Show Gang Tattoos and Snitch on Fellow Cops
- After Spending Over 30 Years in Prison for a Murder Maryland Man Didn’t Commit, Judge Grants Petition for Writ of Actual Innocence
- Bipartisan Call for Postal Service to Overhaul Warrantless Snooping for Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies
- Los Angeles Superior Court Issues Historic Preliminary Injunction on Cash Bail Enforcement
- Indiana Passes Law Prohibiting Police From Lying to Juveniles During Interrogation to Help Prevent False Confessions
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The Evolving Science, Skepticism, and Limited Evidentiary Value of Firearm and Toolmark Identification
(p 1) -
Op-Ed: Fix the First Step Act and Let Reformed Prisoners Out From Behind Bars – Time Credits and the Irrebuttable Presumption Doctrine
(p 17) -
Beyond Rehabilitation: Personal Achievement and Selfless Service as Grounds for Federal Compassionate Release
(p 20) -
SCOTUS Announces Statute of Limitations for § 1983 Claim Challenging State’s Postconviction DNA Testing Procedures Begins to Run Upon Completion of State-Court Litigation, Including Appeals
(p 22) -
Oregon Supreme Court: Right to Counsel Violated by Police Questioning Defendant About an Uncharged Crime in Connection With Charged Crime for Which Defendant Represented by Counsel
(p 23) -
Idaho Supreme Court: Confession Obtained in Violation of Miranda Inadmissible in State’s Case in Chief but May Be Used for Impeachment Purposes Where Defendant’s Will Was Not ‘Overborne’ During Interrogation
(p 24) -
Ohio Supreme Court: Good-Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Inapplicable to Warrant Based on Affidavit Stating Cellphones Found at Scene of Traffic Crash ‘May’ Contain Evidence
(p 26) -
Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention
(p 28) -
Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Satisfy All Three Subsections of § 3553(f)(1) to Be Ineligible for Safety Valve
(p 28) -
New York Court of Appeals Announces When an Alternate Juror Is ‘Discharged’ and no Longer ‘Available for Service’
(p 30) -
Seventh Circuit: Fugitive Who Leased Condo Under Alias Retained Expectation of Privacy so Landlord Could Not Give Valid Consent for Warrantless Search of Premises
(p 31) -
California Court of Appeal: Geofence Warrant Violates ‘Particularity’ Requirement of Fourth Amendment and Is ‘Overbroad’ but Good Faith Exception Applies Because of the Novelty of Geofence Warrants at Time Sought and Executed
(p 32) -
Washington Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ‘Rule of Automatic Reversal’ When Prosecutor Flagrantly Appeals to Racial and Ethnic Bias During Voir Dire
(p 36) -
Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief
(p 37) -
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Granting of New Trial in Murder Case Based on IAC Where Counsel Failed to Investigate Exculpatory Evidence Contained in a Proffer and Provided to Counsel Prior to Trial
(p 38) -
A Lie Is Still a Lie, Even if the Speaker Genuinely Believes It
(p 39) -
Tennessee Supreme Court Announces State Statute Automatically Sentencing Juvenile Offenders Convicted of First-Degree Murder to Life in Prison Is Unconstitutional
(p 40) -
California Court of Appeal Announces ‘Plausible Justification’ as Standard for Claiming Entitlement to Discovery Under Racial Justice Act of 2020
(p 43) -
Ohio Supreme Court: IAC for Counsel to Mention ‘Neonaticide’ at Sentencing but Fail to Explain and Use It as Mitigating Evidence
(p 44) -
by Eike Blohm, MD FATAL ENCOUNTERS WITH POLICE OCCUR in the U.S. with disturbing frequency, setting us apart from other Western industrial nations. A recent study published in the Annual Review of Criminology explores the drivers behind this American exce
(p 46) -
Study Explores Factors Underlying High Rate of American Police Killings
(p 47) -
Proactive Online Stings Do Little to Protect Children
(p 49) -
News in Brief
(p 50) -
California Court Rejects Geofence Warrant
(p 50) - TSA Tests Facial Recognition Technology at Airports, Lawmakers Criticize Increased Surveillance
- Police’s Limited Understanding of AI Tools Raises Concerns, Study Finds
- The Persistence of Polygraph Tests: A Misguided Reliance on Junk Science
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Rejects Federal Central Bank Digital Currency, Signs Groundbreaking Bill Safeguarding Personal Finances from Government Control and Surveillance
- FBI Continues Its War Against Public Key Encryption but Fails to Provide Evidence Requested by Congress
- Secret Service and ICE Used Stingray Devices Without Warrants, Watchdog Finds
- 5 Facts About DNA and Wrongful Convictions
- “I Can’t Breathe!” – California Reaches Record $24 Million Civil Rights Settlement in Fatal Police Custody Incident Two Months Before George Floyd Uttered Same Plea
- A Quarter-Century of Injustice Ends: Norberto Peets Exonerated in the Bronx
- ‘Defensive’ Search Is Not a Recognized Exception to the Warrant Requirement … Yet
- Police Won’t Give Up Militarization Without a Fight
- Raising Doubts and Wrongful Convictions: The Troubling Legacy of Bite Mark Analysis in the Legal System
- The Proliferation of Junk Science in Forensics: A Systemic Spread
- FBI’s Anti-Encryption Campaign Sparks Controversy
- Fired Cop Who Killed Breonna Taylor Hired by Sheriff’s Office in Rural Kentucky, Sparking Outrage
- U.S. Marshals Service’s Secretive Surveillance Unit Still Recovering Months After Ransomware Attack
- Ninth Circuit Rules Honking One’s Car Horn Is Not Protected by the First Amendment
April
- Executive Director of Police Association in California Charged in Multi-National Drug Smuggling Operation
- Iowa Police Chief Arrested for Abusing Position to Stalk Ex-Girlfriend
- Maryland Sheriff Charged in Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain Machine Guns
- Latest Document Leak Already Being Used by Government as Excuse to Tighten Surveillance on All of Us
- Georgia National Guard Plans to Geofence Public High Schools to Target Recruits
- Executive Director of California Police Association Accused of Running Illegal Drug Distribution Business, Charged with Importing Fentanyl
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The Business of Dying: Coroners, Medical Examiners, and the Crisis of Death Investigations in the United States
(p 1) -
Wisconsin Supreme Court: Riding Same Make of Motorcycle as Reported by Police Speeding and Driving Erratically Does Not Constitute Reasonable Suspicion to Initiate Traffic Stop
(p 12) -
Fifth Circuit Announces Altered Serial Number Enhancement Does Not Apply Where Gun Never Had Serial Number
(p 13) -
Computing Fear in Black and Brown Communities
(p 14) -
Police Killings Reach Record High – But Also Lower than Ever Before
(p 14) -
How Junk Science Helped Kill Tyre Nichols
(p 15) -
Ohio Supreme Court Holds Termination of Community Control Is Final Discharge for Purposes of Sealing Records and Terminates Unsatisfied Condition to Pay Child-Support Arrearages
(p 16) -
Eighth Circuit: Defendant Facing Revocation of Supervised Release Did Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Waive Right to Counsel Where Appointed Counsel Admittedly Knew Nothing About Case and Advised Choosing Between ‘Big House or the Nut House’
(p 17) -
First Circuit Vacates Sentence Containing 20-Year Upward Variance Because District Court Failed to Provide Case-Specific Factors or Rationale for Such a Large Variance
(p 18) -
Idaho Supreme Court: Drug-Detection Dog Conducted Warrantless Search by Placing Paws on Exterior of Vehicle to Sniff for Drugs
(p 20) -
Vermont Supreme Court Announces ‘Pinging’ Cellphone to Obtain Real-Time CSLI Constitutes a Search Requiring a Warrant or Recognized Exception
(p 21) -
Georgia Supreme Court: Trial Courts Are Bound to Follow Precedent of Court of Appeals
(p 22) -
A Brief History of K-9 Units in Law Enforcement
(p 23) -
Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners
(p 24) -
Police Violence Ignored When It Fails to Support the Media’s Ideological Bias
(p 26) -
New York State’s Veterans Treatment Courts
(p 26) -
Arizona Wants to TRAC Your Financial Transactions
(p 27) -
How Minneapolis Uses Controversial Technology to Spy on Its Citizens
(p 28) -
Seventh Circuit Vacates Federal Drug Conspiracy Conviction Because District Court Failed to Ensure Defendant Understood ‘Agreement’ Element of Conspiracy and Failed to Ensure Factual Basis for Guilty Plea
(p 30) -
California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Erred by Concluding Senate Bill 1393 Does Not Apply to Cases Already Final on Appeal
(p 32) -
The FBI Used an Undercover Cop With Pink Hair to Spy on Activists and Manufacture Crimes
(p 34) -
Hawaii Supreme Court: Plain Error Not Providing ‘Incidental Restraint’ Jury Instruction Where Kidnapping Only Charge After Dismissing Abuse Charges Prior to Trial
(p 36) -
Ohio Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of ‘Outcome Determinative’ in Context of Motion for Postconviction DNA Testing
(p 37) -
Seventh Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Address Nonfrivolous Argument Raised in First Step Act Motion Constitutes Procedural Error in Violation of Concepcion
(p 38) -
Tenth Circuit Deepens Circuit Split on Whether District Courts May Consider ‘Retribution’ in Deciding Whether to Revoke Supervised Release, Ruling It Is an Impermissible Factor to Consider
(p 39) -
Supervised Release and the Erosion of Due Process Protection
(p 41) -
Houston Prosecutors Profit Millions From Cash Illegally Seized
(p 43) -
California Supreme Court Announces Government’s Continuing Brady Obligations and Ethical Duty of Disclosure During Habeas Proceedings Regarding Alleged Exculpatory Evidence Available at Time of Trial but Suppressed
(p 44) -
Beware of Smart Devices That Infringe on Your Privacy
(p 47) -
News in Brief
(p 50) -
California Court Rejects Geofence Warrant
(p 50) - The 24/7 Police Lineup of Face Recognition Technology
- Police Using GPS Sticky Darts to Avoid High-Speed Car Chases
- The Number of Surveillance-Based Officer-Citizen Encounters Is Increasing
- Smart Locks Violate Tenants’ Privacy and Provide Valuable Information to Police
- AI Company Scraped 30 Billion Facebook Pictures and Sold Them to the Cops
- Forensic Re-creations of Police Abuse and Landmark Settlements Thanks to That Cell Phone in Your Pocket
March
- Another Chapter in Cops’ False Narrative That Mere Contact With Fentanyl Is Deadly – Cleveland Police K-9 Given NARCAN After Fentanyl Exposure
- Facing Driving-While-Suspended Charge in Oregon? DMV Has Thousands of Inaccurate Records, So You May Actually Be Innocent. But Other Innocent Drivers Already Sent to Prison
- Technology Allows for Overbroad Searches on Warrants
- It’s Time for Jaywalking Laws to Take a Hike
- 911 Call Analysis Debunked as Pseudoscience – But It Helped Send Many to Prison
- A Brief History of K-9 Units in Law Enforcement
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After Years of Hard Work and Dedication, Adnan Syed Is Freed by Serendipity
(p 30) -
The Power of the Prosecutor in America: Abuse, Misconduct, Unaccountability, and Miscarriages of Justice
(p 1) -
Massachusetts Supreme Court: Probationer’s Due Process Right to Present a Defense Violated Where Denied Opportunity to Call Complainant Who Alleged Sexual Assault as a Witness During Probation Revocation Hearing
(p 16) -
Fourth Circuit: Immigration Judge’s Failure to Inform Noncitizen of Right to Appeal Deportation Order Was Prejudicial and Invalidated Later Indictment for Illegal Reentry
(p 18) -
Wyoming Supreme Court Rules Officer’s Conduct Prior to Traffic Stop for Traffic Violation Rendered Stop Unreasonable
(p 20) -
Eighth Circuit Announces ‘Probable Cause’ Is Proper Standard for Determining Whether Parolee Resides at Third-Party’s Residence for Purposes of Warrantless Searches
(p 21) -
Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Plain Language of Interference With Privacy of a Minor Statute Requires That Defendant Must Have Known Victim Was Under 18 at Time of Offense
(p 22) -
360 Degree Surveillance: How Police Use Public-Private Partnerships to Spy on Americans
(p 24) -
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Adding Felony Counts by Amending Indictment Constitutes Addition of More Offenses
(p 26) -
California Court of Appeal Holds Phrase ‘From Date of Parole’ Refers to the Start Date of Parole and the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act Does Not Preempt the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act
(p 27) -
The Mounting Geofencing Threat
(p 28) -
Maryland Court of Appeals: ‘No Objection’ to Introduction of Evidence at Trial That Was the Subject of Denied Motion to Suppress Does Not Waive Right to Appellate Review of Denial
(p 31) -
Sixth Circuit: Plain View Doctrine Does Not Apply Where Items Inside Vehicle Were Not Immediately and Apparently Incriminating When Viewed by Police Positioned Outside Vehicle
(p 32) -
New Jersey Supreme Court: Allowing Jury to Hear Defendant’s Invocation of Right to Counsel in Recorded Statement Together With Prosecutor Inferring Guilt Based on Request for Counsel Entitles Defendant to New Trial
(p 34) -
Sensitive Information in Police Database Vulnerable to Hacking
(p 35) -
SCOTUS: Arizona Supreme Court’s Interpretation of State Procedural Rule so ‘Novel and Unforeseeable’ It’s Not ‘Adequate’ to Preclude SCOTUS Review of Federal Death-Penalty Claim
(p 36) -
Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Exigent Circumstances Exception Does Not Justify Police’s Warrantless Seizure of Suspect’s Blood Sample by Hospital Staff
(p 37) -
New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Adoption of Daubert-Type Standard for Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Cases in Assessing Admissibility of Expert Evidence Under Rule 702
(p 39) -
An Argument Without Teeth: The Flawed Science of Bite Mark Analysis
(p 40) -
Survivors of Police Shootings Face Daunting Legal, Emotional, and Physical Challenges
(p 41) -
Time to Find the Key
(p 42) -
Accused War Criminals Training Cops: What Could Go Wrong?
(p 42) -
Study Finds DNA Similarities Among Look-alikes
(p 43) -
Pro-Police Propaganda Dominates the Mainstream Media After Police Abuse and Failure
(p 43) -
Investigation Delays Let Cops Kill Again
(p 44) -
$100 Million Awarded in Federal Grant Money for Recidivism Reduction
(p 45) -
California Town Pushes Homeless Into the Desert
(p 45) -
Law Enforcement Accesses Commercial DNA Databases Without Warrant
(p 46) -
Automatic Speaker-Identification System Performs Better Than Humans
(p 47) -
Corporations Voice Support for Black and Brown People as They Found Cop City
(p 48) -
TSA Using Facial Recognition at Airports in Pilot Program
(p 48) -
DNA-Based Computer-Generated Mugshots Put Entire Community on Wanted List
(p 49) -
Law Enforcement and Mad Men
(p 50) -
News in Brief
(p 50) - Historic Settlement of $21,000 for Each Police Brutality Protester ‘Kettled’ and Beaten by NYPD
- Minnesota Governor Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Former Prisoners
- Chicago Pays $40 Million Per Year to Private Firms to Defend Police Violence Cases
- Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement Training Teaches Police Officers How to Intervene When Their Fellow Officers Use Excessive Force
- $2 Million Settlement for Family of Beloved Musician, Cory Jones, Killed by Florida Cop Now Serving 25 Years for Slaying
February
- Madeline Mendoza Exonerated After Wrongful Conviction for Murder Engineered by Disgraced Former Chicago PD Detective Reynaldo Guevara
- Illinois Town Will Pay $12 Million to Family After SWAT Officer Shot 12-Year-Old in Kneecap While Sitting on Bed With Hands Up
- Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement Training Teaches Police Officers How to Intervene When Their Fellow Officers Use Excessive Force
- Police Departments’ Purchase of Tracking Tool Collecting Location Data Without a Warrant Raises Fourth Amendment Concerns
-
They Called 911 for Help. Police and Prosecutors Used a New Junk Science to Decide They Were Liars.
(p 1) -
Indiana Supreme Court: Defendant Who Was Both Victim of Crime and Suspect in Unrelated Crime Entitled to Pirtle Warning Prior to Police Asking for Consent to Search Home
(p 12) -
Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise a Fourth Amendment Claim
(p 14) -
Seventh Circuit: State Court Decision Not Entitled to AEDPA Deference Due to Incorrect Legal Standard, Pro Se Habeas Petition Granted Based on Trial Counsel’s Failure to Present Expert Witness on Determinative Issue of Guilt Resulting in IAC
(p 16) -
Colorado Supreme Court: Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Based on Alleged Unsafe Lane Change
(p 18) -
California Court of Appeal: Right to Withdraw Plea 23 Years After Entered Because Counsel Failed to Properly Advise of Immigration Consequences and Defendant Mistakenly Believed Permanent Resident Status Barred Adverse Immigration Consequences
(p 20) -
California Court of Appeal Affirms Grant of Suppression Motion Where Officer’s Pat Search of Defendant Based on High Crime Area, Baggy Clothes, Criminal Record, and Suspect in Separate Case
(p 22) -
New Jersey Supreme Court: Edwards Violation When Police Fail to Cease Interrogation After Suspect Makes Ambiguous Invocation of Right to Counsel and ‘Initiates’ Request for Further Communication with Police
(p 24) -
Missouri Supreme Court: Use of Out-of-Court Statement Admitted at Trial Exceeded Limited Purpose of Exception to Rule Against Hearsay Upon Which It Was Admitted
(p 26) -
Your Car Knows a Lot About You, and the Police Are Listening
(p 27) -
Ohio Supreme Court: Defendant Has Reasonable and Legitimate Basis to Withdraw Guilty Plea Before Sentencing When He Discovers Evidence That Would Have Affected Decision
(p 28) -
California Court of Appeal: ‘Actual Killer’ Under Felony-Murder Rule Means Person ‘Who Personally Killed the Victim”
(p 30) -
Attorney General Garland Orders Federal Prosecutors to End Sentencing Disparities Between Crack and Powder Cocaine
(p 31) -
Nevada Supreme Court: Trial Court Erred in Denying Motion to Substitute Counsel Where Ample Evidence Showed Counsel Was Unprepared and Motion Timely
(p 32) -
Governor of Oregon Leaves Legacy of Reformation While Leaving Office
(p 32) -
Seventh Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Present Entrapment Defense Where ‘Some Evidence’ Exists of Government Inducement and Lack of Predisposition to Commit Crime
(p 34) -
Minneapolis Police Department Surveillance Operation Kneels on the Neck of the First Amendment
(p 36) -
California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Denial of Faretta Request Without Finding of ‘Severe Mental Illness’ Denied Defendant Sixth Amendment Right to Self-Representation
(p 36) -
Ninth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Detective Who Arrested Anti-Police-Slogan Sidewalk Chalkers, but Not Other Chalkers Whose Content Wasn’t Anti-Police, Even Though There Was Probable Cause to Arrest
(p 38) -
Massachusetts Supreme Court: Commonwealth Failed to Show GPS Monitoring as Condition of Probation Is Constitutional
(p 39) -
Sixth Circuit Announces Nonretroactive Change in Sentencing Law Is Not an ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ Warranting a Sentence Reduction under Compassionate Release Statute
(p 40) -
Oregon Supreme Court: Federal Law Prohibits Elected DA’s Delegation of Wiretap Authority and Overbroad Initial Search Warrant Requires Suppression of Evidence Obtained as Result of Over 20 Subsequent Warrants
(p 42) -
Invasions of Privacy for People on Electronic Monitoring Is a Warning of Worse Things to Come
(p 43) -
The District of Colombia: Inside the Most Expansive Surveillance Network in America
(p 44) -
Florida Supreme Court Settles Circuit Split, Holding Dual DUI Convictions Regarding Single Victim in Single Incident Violates Double Jeopardy
(p 45) -
Houston Cop from Fatal Raid Lied in Other Cases
(p 46) -
Was the DNA at the Crime Scene Left by the Perpetrator – or by a Pet?
(p 47) -
Electronic Freedom Foundation’s Atlas of Surveillance Helps You Watch Those Who Watch Us
(p 47) -
New York Police Department Joins Crowdsourced Surveillance Ring Neighbors App
(p 48) -
Registry of Approved Standards Adds Two New 3D Firearm Analysis Standards
(p 48) -
FBI Heist Made Public
(p 49) -
New San Francisco Ordinance Allows Police to Access Private Security Cameras
(p 49) -
Cruel and Unusual: Residency Restrictions Force Registrant to Die Among Strangers
(p 50) -
News in Brief
(p 50)
January
- Body Cam Footage and Cellphone Videos Will Make the Quick Dismissals of Bad Police More Common
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Seeks to Rein in Acquitted-Conduct Sentencing
- Tenth Circuit Reminds Cops That Conducting a Traffic Stop to Flirt With Motorist Is Not Okay
-
The Debunking of Forensic Science: A Decade of Increased Scrutiny Reveals Forensic Processes Prone to Bias and Error
(p 1) -
California Court of Appeal: At Felony-Murder Resentencing Hearing, Court May Not Deny Relief Based on Findings That Are Inconsistent With Previous Acquittal
(p 14) -
You’d Better Watch Out: The Surveillance State Is Making a List, and You’re On It
(p 16) -
Montana Supreme Court: Odor of Marijuana by Itself Insufficient to Prolong Traffic Stop
(p 18) -
Fifth Circuit: ‘Nonsubstantial Overcrowding’ of Vehicle Used in Transporting Illegal Aliens Insufficient for Imposition of Sentencing Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2L1.1(b)(6)
(p 18) -
California Court of Appeal: Kill-Zone Theory Principles Articulated in Canizales Are Retroactive to Judgments That Were Final at Time of Decision
(p 22) -
Florida Supreme Court Announces Completed ‘Purchase’ of Drugs Under Trafficking Statute Requires Exchange of Money and Possession
(p 22) -
Police Digitally Frame Activists in India, but It Can Happen Anywhere
(p 24) -
Eleventh Circuit: Prosecutor Denied Absolute Prosecutorial Immunity for Failure to Ensure Cancellation of Material Witness Warrant
(p 24) -
Fifth Circuit: District Court Erred in Finding That a Fourth Amendment Stop Did Not Occur
(p 26) -
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Where Trial Counsel Believed, Erroneously, He Had Ethical Duty to Tell Prosecution Location of Key Incriminating Evidence Not in Counsel’s Possession
(p 27) -
Los Angeles: Police Union Resists Changes to Pretextual Stops
(p 28) -
Tenth Circuit: Unreasonable Determination of Downward Variance of Guidelines Resulted in Plain Error
(p 30) -
Police Find It Easier to Influence Public Opinion Than to Protect and Serve
(p 30) -
Ninth Circuit Suppresses Evidence as Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Where Officer Lacked Probable Cause to Arrest Man Who Displayed Handgun in Open Carry State
(p 32) -
California Court of Appeal Announces the People Are Not Entitled to Have Privately Retained Psychological Expert Testify at Trial of SVPA Petition
(p 33) -
Connecticut Supreme Court Announces ‘John Doe’ Warrant Based on Suspect’s General Description and Partial DNA Profiles, Which May or May Not Include Suspect’s DNA, Fails to Satisfy ‘Particularity Requirement’ of Fourth Amendment
(p 34) -
Tenth Circuit: Prisoner Convicted of Covered Drug Offense but Sentenced to Mandatory Life Sentence Via Cross Reference for Murder Under Pre-Booker Guidelines Has Standing to Request First Step Act Sentence Reduction
(p 36) -
NYC: The First DNA Gun Crimes Unit in America
(p 37) -
Sixth Circuit: Unarmed Bank Robber Who Ordered Tellers to Get on the Floor Not Subject to Enhancement for Physical Restraint
(p 38) -
Traditional Forensic Ballistics Comparisons Giving Way to Virtual 3D Methods
(p 38) -
The National Registry of Exonerations 2021 Annual Report: 161 Exonerations Comprising 1,849 Years of Wrongful Imprisonment
(p 40) -
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ends Practice of Juvenile Courts Granting Continuances for Sole Purpose of Extending Delinquent’s Period of Detention
(p 42) -
Mislabeling of Marijuana Products Is a National Problem
(p 42) -
Review of Prior Research Identifies Three Main Sources of Bias in Jury Decision-Making Processes
(p 43) -
Police Foundations: The Impossible Task of Separating the World of Policing From the World of Corporate Money
(p 46) -
People Convicted of Sex Crimes Remain Incarcerated 25 Years After Completing Their Prison Sentences
(p 49) -
Charlotte Is Ground Zero for New FBI Asset Forfeiture Tip Line Program
(p 49) -
News in Brief
(p 50) -
Theft of Public Funds or Accounting Incompetence? Kansas Police Agencies Can’t Accurately Track Property Forfeitures
(p 50) - Hundreds Convicted by Split Juries Will Have New Trials After Oregon Supreme Court Decision
- Wrongful Conviction for First-Degree Murder Vacated 26 Years After Misconduct by Corrupt Chicago Detective Reynaldo Guevara Framed Him
- Abusive Cop in Vallejo, California, Has Cost the Taxpayers More $500,000 in Settlements; Latest Brutality Victim Is a Marine Veteran and Stanford Grad
- DNA Databases Can Threaten the Privacy of Individuals Whose Profiles Are Stored in Them, Yet They Remain a Powerful Tool for Law Enforcement