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Criminal Legal News: June, 2025

Issue PDF
Volume 8, Number 6

In this issue:

  1. Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability (p 1)
  2. Los Angeles Criminal Legal System Undermined 
by Months of Faulty DNA Testing (p 13)
  3. Fourth Circuit: District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Explanation for Sentence Imposed and Did Not Address Defendant’s Arguments for Downward Variant Sentence (p 14)
  4. Maryland Reforms Offer Second Chances on Expungement and Parole (p 15)
  5. Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Determining Whether a Defendant Is Entitled to Jury Instructions 
on Self-defense and Defense of Others (p 16)
  6. First Circuit Announces What Constitutes ‘Otherwise Using’ 
a Dangerous Weapon for Purposes of the Four-Level 
Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2B3.1(a) (p 19)
  7. Car Subscriptions: Another Means of Mass Surveillance by Law Enforcement (p 20)
  8. Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims (p 21)
  9. The Crushing Toll of Ohio’s Death Penalty: A Billion-Dollar Failure (p 22)
  10. Illinois Supreme Court: Use of Flashlight by Police to See Through Small Gap in Chained and Padlocked Kitchen Cabinet Doors Constitutes ‘Search’ Under Fourth Amendment (p 24)
  11. Illinois ‘Murderer’ Registry Punishes More Than It Protects (p 27)
  12. Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity 
Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon (p 28)
  13. Rhode Island Supreme Court Announces Indigent First-Time Applicant for Postconviction Relief Entitled to Counsel Even 
When Not Requested; Superior Court Must Determine 
Whether Applicant Intended to Waive Right to Counsel and 
Whether Done Knowingly, Vol (p 30)
  14. SCOTUS Announces Knowingly or Intentionally Causing 
Bodily Injury or Death by ‘Omission’ Necessarily Involves 
‘Use’ of ‘Physical Force’ for Purposes of § 924(c) (p 32)
  15. Blindfolded Juries, Coerced Convictions: 
Why Prosecutors Often Win Before Trials Even Begin (p 34)
  16. Facial Recognition at the Border: CBP’s Push to Scan Every Car Passenger Sparks Privacy Concerns (p 38)
  17. Bipartisan Legislative Wins in Virginia and Utah Expand 
Job Opportunities for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals (p 39)
  18. South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Traditional 
Four-Element Standard for When Person Has Right 
to Use Deadly Force in Self-Defense Not Applicable 
to Non-Deadly Force Self-Defense Analysis (p 40)
  19. Fingerprints as New Drug-Detection Method (p 41)
  20. Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Convictions, 
Holding Multiple Errors by State Resulted in ‘Legal Chaos’ 
That Deprived Defendant of Right to Fair Trial 
Under ‘Cumulative-Error Doctrine’ (p 42)
  21. SCOTUS Announces Rejection of ‘Moment-of-Threat 
Doctrine’ Because It Improperly Narrows Required 
‘Totality of the Circumstances’ Analysis for Fourth 
Amendment Excessive-Force Claims (p 42)
  22. ‘Sexome’ Bacteria Offers New Path to Justice 
in Sexual Assault Cases Where 
DNA Is Not Present (p 45)
  23. Georgia Eliminates Legal Standard That Sent Intellectually Disabled Prisoners to Death Row (p 46)
  24. SCOTUS Announces Only ‘False’ Statements Made to FDIC 
Are Criminalized Under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, Not Statements 
That Are ‘Misleading’ but True (p 47)
  25. News in Brief (p 49)

Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability

by Casey J. Bastian

“The vast majority of people whose deaths we are witnessing at the hands of law enforcement do in fact have disabilities”—HEARD Volunteer Director and Community Lawyer Talila Lewis

In a nation that prides itself on justice and equality, why are disabled individuals so often met with ...

Los Angeles Criminal Legal System Undermined 
by Months of Faulty DNA Testing

The integrity of Los Angeles County’s justice system is under fire following the news that potentially defective DNA test kits were used for months in thousands of criminal cases. 

Despite being notified in August 2024 that its kits were “prone to intermittently poor performance,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department ...

Fourth Circuit: District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Explanation for Sentence Imposed and Did Not Address Defendant’s Arguments for Downward Variant Sentence

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina committed procedural error by failing to address the defendant’s arguments for a lower sentence and failing to provide an individualized explanation for the sentence it imposed because the ...

Maryland Reforms Offer Second Chances on Expungement and Parole

by Jo Ellen Nott

Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed a suite of reform bills into law on April 22, 2025, marking a victory for incarcerated individuals, the formerly incarcerated, and advocates who have worked tirelessly for these changes for years.

The newly enacted legislation addresses critical issues surrounding criminal record ...

Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Determining Whether a Defendant Is Entitled to Jury Instructions 
on Self-defense and Defense of Others

The Supreme Court of Minnesota clarified the standard for determining whether a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on self-defense and defense of others. Applying the clarified standard, the Court held that the district court erred by not providing the requested jury instructions and that the defendant is entitled ...

First Circuit Announces What Constitutes ‘Otherwise Using’ 
a Dangerous Weapon for Purposes of the Four-Level 
Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2B3.1(a)

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico improperly applied the four-level sentencing enhancement for “otherwise using” a dangerous weapon under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”) § 2B3.1(a) to the defendant’s sentence for carjacking because the District Court ...

Car Subscriptions: Another Means of Mass Surveillance by Law Enforcement

by David Kim

Police records obtained by WIRED reveal that the rise of internet-connected car features, spurred by automakers’ subscription models, is increasing drivers’ vulnerability to government surveillance. These documents expose how law enforcement agencies exploit the data generated by modern vehicles, often without public knowledge or meaningful legal oversight. ...

Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims

This column is a follow-up to my original column published in the March 2021 issue of Criminal Legal News titled “Raising Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims.” In that first piece, I explained how to identify valid claims for federal habeas relief, claims that have the potential to justify relief. This ...

The Crushing Toll of Ohio’s Death Penalty: A Billion-Dollar Failure

by David Kim

Ohio’s death penalty system, which has consumed over a billion dollars, delivers neither justice nor closure, according to a damning report by Ohioans to Stop Executions. The system—marked by exorbitant costs, prolonged delays, and a troubling history of wrongful convictions—fails victims’ families, prison staff, and the wrongfully ...

Illinois Supreme Court: Use of Flashlight by Police to See Through Small Gap in Chained and Padlocked Kitchen Cabinet Doors Constitutes ‘Search’ Under Fourth Amendment

The Supreme Court of Illinois reversed the Appellate Court’s denial of the defendant’s suppression motion, holding that contraband discovered by police inside a kitchen cabinet that was slightly ajar but secured with a chain and padlock should have been suppressed because police used a flashlight to peer into the slight ...

Illinois ‘Murderer’ Registry Punishes More Than It Protects

Illinois maintains a digital public shaming website called the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, which is mandated under the provisions of Illinois Compiled Statutes 730 ILCS 154/85 (a) and (b). Supporters of the registry often claim that it enhances public safety, but not everybody agrees that it is ...

Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity 
Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia abused its discretion by failing to address the defendant’s non-frivolous argument for a downward variance. 

Tytus Lamaar Shields was importing drugs for distribution in Parkersburg, West Virginia, ...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Announces Indigent First-Time Applicant for Postconviction Relief Entitled to Counsel Even 
When Not Requested; Superior Court Must Determine 
Whether Applicant Intended to Waive Right to Counsel and 
Whether Done Knowingly, Vol

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island quashed the orders of the Superior Court that summarily dismissed an indigent first-time applicant’s request for postconviction relief because the Superior Court failed to determine whether the applicant, who did not specifically ask for the appointment of counsel, intended to proceed pro se and ...

SCOTUS Announces Knowingly or Intentionally Causing 
Bodily Injury or Death by ‘Omission’ Necessarily Involves 
‘Use’ of ‘Physical Force’ for Purposes of § 924(c)

The Supreme Court of the United States held that knowingly or intentionally causing bodily injury or death by failing to take action—that is, by omission—uses physical force for purposes of the elements clause of § 924(c).

Background

Salvatore Delligatti was an associate of the Genovese crime family in New York City. ...

Blindfolded Juries, Coerced Convictions: 
Why Prosecutors Often Win Before Trials Even Begin

This article was originally published by the Cato Institute at cato.org. It has been reprinted with permission.

 

The Bill of Rights dedicates more words to the resolution of criminal charges than any other subject, establishing a criminal justice system in which defendants are afforded rigorous protections such as the ...

Facial Recognition at the Border: CBP’s Push to Scan Every Car Passenger Sparks Privacy Concerns

by David Kim

At United States border crossings, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) wants to photograph every vehicle occupant, from drivers to back-seat passengers, using real-time facial recognition to match images with travel documents. A recent federal notice details this plan, which is reportedly intended to enhance security but has ...

Bipartisan Legislative Wins in Virginia and Utah Expand 
Job Opportunities for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

In a positive step advancing fair-chance policy for formerly incarcerated individuals, Virginia and Utah both signed policies into law in March 2025 that will help dismantle barriers faced by people with criminal records as they reenter the world of work. 

The National Council of State Legislatures (“NCSL”) has determined that ...

South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Traditional 
Four-Element Standard for When Person Has Right 
to Use Deadly Force in Self-Defense Not Applicable 
to Non-Deadly Force Self-Defense Analysis

The Supreme Court of South Carolina held that the defendant was entitled to a self-defense jury instruction where he presented some evidence upon which a jury could reasonably conclude that he acted in self-defense and that it was error for the trial court to refuse to provide the requested jury ...

Fingerprints as New Drug-Detection Method

by James Mills

When law enforcement wants to screen a person for drug use, they usually must collect some kind of invasive physical sample from the suspect. Urine, blood, and hair are all common choices. Now drug use may soon be detectable from fingerprints alone.

For years, Min Jang, an ...

Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Convictions, 
Holding Multiple Errors by State Resulted in ‘Legal Chaos’ 
That Deprived Defendant of Right to Fair Trial 
Under ‘Cumulative-Error Doctrine’

Sitting en banc, the Supreme Court of Mississippi reversed both the trial court and Court of Appeals’ decisions that the State’s multiple violations of the defendant’s rights under the United States Constitution as well as the Mississippi Rules of Evidence and multiple instances of prosecutorial misconduct did not deprive the ...

SCOTUS Announces Rejection of ‘Moment-of-Threat 
Doctrine’ Because It Improperly Narrows Required 
‘Totality of the Circumstances’ Analysis for Fourth 
Amendment Excessive-Force Claims

The Supreme Court of the United States held that courts may not apply the “moment-of-threat” doctrine when evaluating the reasonableness of police officers’ use of deadly force involving claims of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment because the doctrine improperly narrows the requisite inquiry into the “totality of ...

‘Sexome’ Bacteria Offers New Path to Justice 
in Sexual Assault Cases Where 
DNA Is Not Present

Forensic science has traditionally relied on DNA evidence from sperm to identify suspects in sexual assault cases. However, when no sperm is present—such as when a perpetrator uses a condom—these methods are often ineffective. 

New research published in iScience in February 2025 suggests a novel approach to using bacteria as ...

Georgia Eliminates Legal Standard That Sent Intellectually Disabled Prisoners to Death Row

Georgia has joined a growing number of states that prohibit the execution of people with intellectual disabilities after Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill into law on May 12, 2025, establishing clearer legal protections for such defendants in capital cases.

Nearly Impossible Standard Eliminated

For decades, Georgia stood alone in ...

SCOTUS Announces Only ‘False’ Statements Made to FDIC 
Are Criminalized Under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, Not Statements 
That Are ‘Misleading’ but True

Resolving a split between the United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Seventh Circuit, the Supreme Court of the United States held that 18 U.S.C. § 1014 criminalizes only “false” statements, not ones that are “misleading” but true, i.e., not false. 

Background

Patrick Thompson obtained three loans totaling ...

News in Brief

Alabama: On March 31, 2025, in State of Alabama v. Mac Marquette, Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott denied former Decatur Police Department officer Marquette’s motion for self-defense immunity in the fatal shooting of Steve Perkins. According to the Associate Press, the denial depended legally on whether Marquette acted within ...

 

 

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