Archive: 2025
May
April
March
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A Guilty Voice: Is Voice Analysis Junk Science or Reliable Evidence?
(p 1) -
SCOTUS Clarifies It Had Already Been ‘Clearly Established Federal Law’ in 2004 for Purposes of AEDPA That Evidence at Trial Can Be So Prejudicial as to Violate Due Process
(p 15) -
From the Editor Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Holdings and Dicta*
(p 17) -
How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review
(p 20) -
‘Jack the Ripper’ Meets DNA Analysis
(p 22) -
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces State Wiretap Statute Requires Suppression of Both Audio and Video Components of Audiovisual Footage of Unlawfully Intercepted Oral Communication Showing Defendant as Party to Communication
(p 23) -
Faster Justice: Rapid DNA Set to Expand Law Enforcement Reach
(p 24) -
FBI Pressured Forensic Science Group to Censor Critical Workshops, Emails Reveal
(p 24) -
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Defense Counsel Had Actual Conflict of Interest Where Own Performance During Police Interview of Defendant Could Serve as Basis of Motion to Suppress Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, New Trial Required W
(p 26) -
California Court of Appeal Vacates Sentence Where Trial Court Imposed Sentence Under ‘One Strike’ Enhancement Statute Enacted After Crimes Were Committed
(p 28) -
Study Confirms New York City’s ShotSpotter Deployment Was a Costly Misstep
(p 29) -
Trump Appoints ‘Pardon Czar’ at Black History Month Event
(p 30) -
Shakedown in New Mexico: Decades-Long Police Corruption Scandal Rocks Albuquerque’s DWI Unit
(p 30) -
How Online Behavioral Ads Fuel Mass Surveillance
(p 30) -
Can Comics Help Juries Understand Complex DNA Evidence?
(p 32) -
Filming ICE Agents at Work: Know Your Rights
(p 32) -
Convicted Double Murderer Executed by Firing Squad in South Carolina
(p 32) -
California Police Misused State Databases Over 7,000 Times in 2023
(p 34) -
Government Hacks Computers to Thwart Hackers
(p 35) -
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
(p 36) -
California Court of Appeal Vacates Former NFL Star’s Rape Conviction Because Prosecutor’s Racial Statements During Closing Constituted ‘Racially Discriminatory Language’ in Violation of Racial Justice Act
(p 38) -
EFF Launches Rayhunter: A New Tool to Detect Covert Cellular Surveillance
(p 39) -
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Commonwealth Must Prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Offender Knew of SORNA Registration Obligations for Failure to Register Conviction
(p 40) -
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
(p 42) -
Bite Marks and Broken Justice: A Louisiana Man’s Life and Death Struggle Against Junk Science
(p 43) -
Nevada Supreme Court: Theft Offenses and Possessing or Receiving Stolen Property Offenses Are Mutually Exclusive and Double Jeopardy Protections Bar Conviction for Both Offenses When Based on Same Conduct
(p 46) -
Virtual Injustice: How Remote Hearings Harm Incarcerated Defendants
(p 47) -
Maryland Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Its Discretion by Failing to Exercise That Discretion Where It Summarily Refused Requested Jury Instruction Because It Was a Non-Pattern Instruction and ‘Some Evidence’ Supported the Instruction
(p 48) -
NEWS IN BRIEF
(p 49)
February
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Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration
(p 1) -
Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments
(p 13) -
D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination
(p 14) -
A Gift America Can’t Return: The Police State Is America’s New Crime Boss
(p 16) -
‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers
(p 20) -
Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty
(p 22) -
Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background
(p 24) -
Colorado Supreme Court Holds Defendant Was in ‘Custody’ for Miranda Purposes Because She Had Hands Bagged and Zip Tied, Commanded Not to Remove Them, and Questioned Alone in Interrogation Room With Door Closed
(p 28) -
California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhancements
(p 29) -
Fourth Circuit Decision on Claim of Retaliation for Exercising First And Sixth Amendment Rights Highlights Police Corruption
(p 31) -
Reining in Police Monitoring of Social Media
(p 32) -
Study: DNA Transfer in Social Settings
(p 35) -
California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants May Obtain Brady Evidence From Police Officers’ Personnel Files in Advance of § 1172.6 Hearing Requesting Vacatur of Conviction and Resentencing for Certain Types of Murder Convictions
(p 38) -
First Circuit: Two-Level Enhancement Under § 3B1.1(c) for Leadership or Managerial Role Vacated Because Government Failed to Prove Defendant’s Order Was Actually ‘Obeyed’ by Fellow Criminal Participant
(p 40) -
Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction
(p 41) -
First Circuit Holds No Emergency-Aid Exception to Warrant Requirement Where Police Have Information That Subject Is Already Deceased
(p 42) -
Police Departments Are Now Using AI to Write Reports
(p 44) -
California Court of Appeal Announces Equal Protection Entitles Youth Offenders Convicted of Special Circumstances Murder Predicated on Robbery or Burglary to Franklin and Parole Hearings Under Cal. Penal Code § 3051
(p 46) -
Law Enforcement Obscures Use of Facial Recognition Technology
(p 47) -
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural
(p 48) -
Study Reveals Best DNA Recovery Spots on Drug Baggies
(p 49) -
News in Brief
(p 49) -
California Court of Appeal Announces Youthful Defendants Sentenced to Terms ‘Functionally Equivalent’ to LWOP Entitled to Resentencing Under § 1170(d)
(p 7) -
Maryland Supreme Court Clarifies Process for Admitting Co-Conspirator’s Hearsay Statements During Police Interview Under ‘Declaration Against Penal Interest’ Exception, Trial Court Must ‘Parse’ Interview to Determine Admissibility of Each Statement
(p 10) -
Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA
(p 13) -
Ninth Circuit Announces ‘Hate Crime’ Sentence Enhancement Under Guidelines § 3A1.1(a) Requires Finding Defendant Motivated by Hate or Animus
(p 20) -
Surveilling the Harms of Electronic Monitors
(p 21) -
The Murky Waters of Parole
(p 24) -
Study Highlights Limitations in Forensic DNA Analysis Involving Lower Genetic Diversity Groups
(p 25) -
Careful What You Search For
(p 25) -
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Trial Court Must Conduct Inquiry Whether Defendant Knowingly and Voluntarily Waived Right to Counsel at ‘Any Stage of a Case,’ Including Arraignment or Plea Hearing
(p 26) -
Ninth Circuit: Defense Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Move to Suppress Evidence Obtained as a Result of Police Officer Trespassing on Curtilage of Defendant’s Home
(p 28) -
Ninth Circuit Announces California Assault With Deadly Weapon Conviction Not ‘Crime of Violence’ for Career Offender Enhancement Under Sentencing Guidelines
(p 30) -
New AI Tool Harnesses Microbiomes for Forensic and Medical Breakthroughs
(p 30) -
California Court of Appeal Strikes Prison Prior Enhancement for Invalid Predicate Offense Under § 1172.75 Despite Concurrently Served Valid Predicate
(p 32) -
Illinois Supreme Court Announces Odor of Burnt Cannabis Alone Is Insufficient to Establish Probable Cause for a Warrantless Vehicle Search
(p 34) -
First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners
(p 35) -
Eleventh Circuit: Asylee’s Florida Convictions for Marijuana Possession and Lewd and Lascivious Battery Do Not Warrant Removal Under INA
(p 36) -
Minnesota Supreme Court Announces No Duty to Retreat When Using Reasonable Force in Defense of Another and Provides Framework for Analyzing Such Claims
(p 38) -
Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints
(p 39) -
Vermont Supreme Court Eliminates Year-and-a-Day Rule in Murder Prosecutions
(p 40) -
Chicago’s Police Body Cam Transparency
(p 42) -
Ninth Circuit Announces ‘Clear Error’ Review Applies to District Courts’ Factual Findings for Brady Challenges and Affirms District Court’s Mid-Trial Order Excluding Witness Testimony and Imposing Monetary Sanctions for Government’s Brady Violation
(p 43) -
Colorado Bureau of Investigation Admits Over 1,000 Cases Affected by DNA Test Misconduct
(p 47) -
Federal Facial Recognition Technology Fails Again
(p 47) -
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Habeas Relief in ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case
(p 48) -
News in Brief
(p 49)
January
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SCOTUS Announces Confrontation Clause Prohibits Expert Witness From Testifying About Non-Testifying Expert’s Statements Regarding Forensic Testing Performed by Non-Testifying Expert in Support of Testifying Expert’s Opinion Testimony at Trial
(p 24) -
NIJ Partners With Doctor to Develop Better Screening Method to Detect and Identify Drugs Postmortem
(p 21) -
Seeking Justice for Two: The DNA Scandal That Shook a Community
(p 1) -
Oregon Supreme Court Announces 60-Day Limit on Pretrial Custody Applies to Retrials
(p 29) -
Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Relief Where Both Trial and Appellate Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Challenge Indictment for Residential Burglary That Failed to Allege Defendant Illegally Entered a ‘Dwelling’
(p 32) -
Understanding Timestamps in Digital Forensics
(p 47) -
Protect Yourself Against Police Invasion of Your Cellphone
(p 48)