by Doug Ankney
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a defendant’s sentence for failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), holding that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas committed plain …
by David M. Reutter
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that a motion judge abused his discretion by denying an evidentiary hearing on a defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The defendant, a lawful permanent resident facing virtually mandatory removal …
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a warrantless protective search of a vehicle under Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032 (1983) (sometimes described as a vehicle “protective sweep”), violated the Fourth Amendment where officers failed to identify any fact …
by David M. Reutter
In an en banc decision, the Supreme Court of Washington held that Anthony Lee’s two second-degree assault convictions based on his beating Amy Groff in the head with a gun and then shooting at her as she fled were part of a single unit …
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that all 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims arising in West Virginia are subject to a two-year statute of limitations under West Virginia Code § 55-2-12(b), resolving inconsistent applications by U.S. District Courts in that …
by David M. Reutter
The Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously reversed the defendant’s controlled dangerous substances (“CDS”) convictions and ordered a new trial, holding that while no individual error warranted reversal, the cumulative effect of multiple prosecutorial missteps deprived the defendant of his constitutional right to a …
by David Kim
In a matter of first impression, the Supreme Court of Montana unanimously reversed a district court order that would have required a defendant to register as a sex offender based on allegations contained in charging documents that were never proved beyond a reasonable doubt or …
by David M. Reutter
The New York Court of Appeals held that when police employ coercive tactics compelling a suspect to leave a residence, the resulting arrest violates the ban on unwarranted in-home arrests established in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980), under a theory of …
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a taking of property does not qualify as robbery under the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), unless force or threatened force is employed before or during the taking itself. The Court ruled …
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a cocaine-importation conspiracy conviction, holding that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York erred in excluding undisputed evidence that the defendant’s coworker had twice previously provided information to the Colombian …
by Doug Ankney
Sitting en banc, the Supreme Court of Delaware vacated the defendant’s convictions and remanded, holding that the prosecution’s use of indirect hearsay evidence violated his Sixth Amendment confrontation rights. Although defense counsel did not object at trial, the Court applied plain error review and determined …
by David Kim
The Supreme Court of Oregon held that the State violates Article I, section 11, of the Oregon Constitution when it fails to appoint counsel for an eligible criminal defendant for an extended period following arraignment. The Court established a bright-line rule under which dismissal of …
by Jo Ellen Nott
In a move to strengthen the accountability and scientific rigor of forensic evidence, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) released Reference Material (“RM”) 8043 on February 18, 2026. This new kit of DNA samples is designed to force transparency in the forensic …
by David M. Reutter
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a supervised release revocation judgment and remanded for resentencing, holding that a defendant may challenge standard conditions of supervised release that were never orally pronounced at sentencing through an appeal of a subsequent …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
The Supreme Court of Hawaii held that the due process clause of the Hawaii Constitution requires law enforcement to record all custodial interrogations conducted inside police stations and, when feasible, all custodial interrogations conducted outside of stations. The Court defined “recording” to mean a simultaneous …
by Jo Ellen Nott
When forensic investigators arrive at a crime scene, they search for DNA on surfaces, clothing, and objects. Increasingly, research suggests they may also need to consider the household pet. Studies led by Flinders University in collaboration with Victoria Police have shown that dogs and …
by Jo Ellen Nott
In the world of modern policing, there is no such thing as a free lunch, only a more expensive and expansive surveillance state. A disturbing trend is sweeping through local governments: the acquisition of high-tech spying tools through “gifts,” pilot programs, and federal grants …
by Douglas Ankney
When Pontius Pilate declared he found “no fault” in the man before him, he sent Jesus to be crucified anyway. Two thousand years later, a version of this practice persists in America’s federal courts. It is called “acquitted conduct sentencing,” and it permits judges to …
Loaded on
March 1, 2026
published in Criminal Legal News
April, 2026, page 49
Alaska: Alaska News Source reported that former Bethel Police Department (BPD) Off. Jonathan Murphy, 39, was convicted on February 13, 2026, of a brutal use of force. Body-camera footage captured Murphy during a December 2023 stolen-vehicle stop as he struck the compliant driver, Bernard Mael. When the 44-year-old …
by Jo Ellen Nott
In a significant victory for the reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals and those with arrest records, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 1836, known as the “Clean Slate” Act, on January 16, 2026.
The legislation, passed with bipartisan support, transforms the state’s …
