by Clarence Walker Jr.
Law enforcement officials believe our vocal cords betray us with every syllable we speak. Welcome to a world of technology capable of listening to a human voice and then determining whether a person is concealing the truth. Amidst a sea of clever deceptions and unintended revelations, ...
by Sam Rutherford
The Supreme Court of the United States clarified that it had already been clearly established federal law for purposes of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) at the time of a federal habeas petitioner’s state trial in 2004 that admitted evidence at trial ...
*But Were Afraid to Ask
by Richard Resch
As Andrew v. White, 220 L. Ed. 2d 340 (2025) (per curiam), illustrates, even highly accomplished legal professionals at the pinnacle of the profession can find themselves grappling with the subtle art of correctly identifying the holding(s) in court opinions. Notice how ...
by Dale Chappell
For prisoners who have exhausted their state postconviction options, the path to relief in federal court is filled with obstacles. Many assume that the only option is federal habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, but the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”) has made that process ...
by James Mills
More than 135 years after a series of gruesome murders terrorized London, new DNA evidence has emerged that may lend credence to long-held suspicions about one of the original suspects. The infamous “Jack the Ripper” killings, a string of brutal murders in the late 19th century, remain ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that when police secretly make a warrantless audiovisual recording of a suspect’s oral communication in violation of the state wiretap act, G.L.c. 272, § 99 P, the video footage must also be suppressed, not just the audio component, because the remedy ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
In a significant development for forensic science, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) approved updates to the Quality Assurance Standards (“QAS”) for Forensic Laboratories in January, paving the way for DNA profiles generated through Rapid DNA analysis to be searched in the national Combined DNA Index ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
When the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (“AAFS”) announced its lineup of workshops for a recent conference, Ted Hunt, a senior policy advisor to the FBI’s crime lab, demanded that references to the FBI be removed from two sessions. Hunt also urged AAFS representatives, including its ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld a trial court’s order for a new trial after it concluded that defense counsel had a conflict of interest where counsel could potentially be called to testify about the events that occurred during a voluntary police interview that formed ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, vacated the sentence of Santiago Gonzalo Canales and remanded for resentencing because the trial court imposed an enhanced sentence under a “One Strike” law, § 667.61, that was enacted after the alleged crimes occurred.
Canales was charged by amended ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
SoundThinking’s ShotSpotter technology, which uses echolocation to alert police and emergency medical services (“EMS”) to potential gunshots detected by microphones across a city, has faced mounting scrutiny. While sales and public relations teams have touted its effectiveness—and, on occasion, been accused of manipulating data to secure ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
Albuquerque is grappling with a sprawling police corruption scandal that spans decades, involving bribery, extortion, and racketeering within the city’s DWI enforcement unit. The scandal, which came to light after a federal investigation, has led to multiple guilty pleas, the dismissal of hundreds of cases, and ...
by James Mills
President Donald J. Trump recently announced the appointment of Alice Johnson, a formerly incarcerated woman whose sentence he had commuted, as his senior adviser on pardons, a role he dubbed “pardon czar.” The announcement was made during a Black History Month reception at the White House, held ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
It is no secret that digital advertising companies profit handsomely by accessing and exploiting the private information of consumers. What may be surprising, however, is the increasing efficiency with which these companies collect, distribute, and monetize personal data. This information feeds the American surveillance state, making ...
by David Kim
Brad Sigmon, a 67-year-old convicted double murderer, became the first prisoner in the United States to be executed by firing squad in 15 years on Friday, March 7, 2025. Sigmon, who was sentenced to death for the 2001 killings of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, chose the method over ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
Across the United States, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) activity is intensifying, including highly visible raids. Amid this escalation, it is important to remember that the public has a First Amendment right to film ICE agents while they perform their official duties in public spaces.
This ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
Few people possess the scientific and mathematical background needed to fully grasp the complexities of DNA evidence after just ten minutes of expert testimony. Yet jurors are routinely tasked with making life-altering decisions for defendants based on such testimony and other intricate technological issues.
Andy Ridgway, ...
by James Mills
alifornia law enforcement agencies violated rules governing access to criminal justice databases 7,275 times in 2023, according to records obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”). These violations highlight systemic issues in the oversight of sensitive data systems, raising concerns about privacy and accountability.
California imposes ...
by James Mills
Did you know the federal government has the ability to access a virtually unlimited range of computers—including laptops, workstations, and library terminals—if it so desires?
This revelation comes after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) announced in a January press release that it had removed malware from ...
by Sagi Schwartzberg
The Supreme Court of Nebraska interpreted the definition of “working days” in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-4001.01(6) of the Nebraska Sex Offender Registration Act (“SORA”) to refer to Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, excluding legal holidays. The Court held that the State failed to provide sufficient evidence ...
by Phillip Wasserman, J.D.
The Court of Appeal of California, Sixth Appellate District, held that the prosecution’s statements during closing arguments—that the police failed to search the defendant’s home in part because he was a famous Black man and that a search of his home would have opened up “a ...
by David Kim
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) has announced Rayhunter, an open-source tool designed to detect cell-site simulators (“CSS”), devices often used by law enforcement and others to covertly track mobile phones. Running on an affordable mobile hotspot, Rayhunter seeks to empower activists, journalists, and everyday users to identify ...
by Sagi Schwartzberg
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that, to support a conviction for failure to register as a sex offender, the Commonwealth is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person subject to Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) knew of their obligation to ...
by Jeffrey Cohen
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the definition of “controlled substance” in effect at the time of sentencing for the current offense applies, not the definition in effect at the time of prior convictions, in determining whether the prior convictions qualify ...
by David Kim
In a Louisiana courtroom last September, attorney Scott Greene stood before those in attendance and issued a stark warning: The video they were about to see would unsettle them. Recorded in 1993 as part of a murder investigation, the grainy footage captured forensic dentist Dr. Michael West ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Nevada reaffirmed that theft offenses and possessing or receiving stolen property offenses are mutually exclusive, and double jeopardy protections precluded a defendant’s convictions for both offenses where charges stem from the same conduct.
Background
In February 2022, the home of Gavin Filarsky and ...
by Jo Ellen Nott
Vermont’s increased reliance on remote court hearings, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure safety, has created significant challenges for incarcerated individuals, their attorneys, and the broader justice system. While remote proceedings have become the norm nationwide, their expansion to substantive hearings in Vermont has ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Maryland held that when there is “some evidence” in the record to support a requested jury instruction on an evidentiary inference, the trial court is required to exercise its discretion to determine whether to give the instruction, and if the trial court refuses ...
Loaded on
March 15, 2025
published in Criminal Legal News
April, 2025, page 49
Alabama: On February 19, 2025, a grand jury called for the immediate abolition of the Hanceville Police Department for its “rampant culture of corruption” that turned it into a criminal enterprise. The New York Post reported that an investigation followed the death of dispatcher Christopher Willingham, 49, who died at ...
