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Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies Parole Board May Delegate Final Revocation Hearings to Administrative Law Judges but Holds Due Process Requires Parolees Be Permitted to File Exceptions to ALJ Finding...
Article • April 1, 2026 • from CLN May, 2026
Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Revocation Proceedings, Authority and Jurisdiction
Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies Parole Board May Delegate Final Revocation Hearings to Administrative Law Judges but Holds Due Process Requires Parolees Be Permitted to File Exceptions to ALJ Findings Before Board Renders a Final Revocation Decision by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Consolidating two appeals that had produced conflicting results …
SCOTUS Unanimously Announces Heck Does Not Bar §1983 Suits Seeking Purely Prospective Relief, Resolving Circuit Split Over Whether a Prior Conviction Precludes a Forward-Looking Constitutional Cha...
Article • April 1, 2026 • from CLN May, 2026
Filed under: Injunctions, First Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Prohibitions Against Protests, Protected Speech
SCOTUS Unanimously Announces Heck Does Not Bar §1983 Suits Seeking Purely Prospective Relief, Resolving Circuit Split Over Whether a Prior Conviction Precludes a Forward-Looking Constitutional Challenge to the Statute of Conviction by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that a plaintiff previously …
Montana Supreme Court Holds Defendant’s Sentence Must Be Vacated Where District Court Premised Sentence on Defendant’s Exercise of Constitutional Rights to Jury Trial, Silence, and Against Self-Inc...
Article • April 1, 2026 • from CLN May, 2026
Filed under: Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Self-Incrimination Clause, Right to Testify/Remain Silent, Acceptance of Responsibility
Montana Supreme Court Holds Defendant’s Sentence Must Be Vacated Where District Court Premised Sentence on Defendant’s Exercise of Constitutional Rights to Jury Trial, Silence, and Against Self-Incrimination by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Montana unanimously held that a district court violates due process when it premises …
Acquitted Conduct Sentencing: Not Guilty – But Punished Anyway
Article • March 1, 2026 • from CLN April, 2026
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Federal Legislation, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts
Acquitted Conduct Sentencing: Not Guilty – But Punished Anyway by Douglas Ankney 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 …
Montana Supreme Court: Due Process Prohibits Courts From Relying on Unproven Charging Allegations When Imposing Sex Offender Registration Duty, Announces First-Impression Rule Limiting Review to Ele...
Article • March 1, 2026 • from CLN April, 2026
Filed under: Sex Offender Registration, Administrative Exhaustion, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Qualifying Offenses, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts
Montana Supreme Court: Due Process Prohibits Courts From Relying on Unproven Charging Allegations When Imposing Sex Offender Registration Duty, Announces First-Impression Rule Limiting Review to Elements of Conviction by David Kim by David Kim In a matter of first impression, the Supreme Court of Montana unanimously reversed a district court …
California Supreme Court Announces Excessive Fines Clauses Are the Proper Method to Challenge Punitive Fines, Holds Equal Protection Requires Courts to Consider Defendant’s Inability to Pay Before Imp...
Article • February 1, 2026 • from CLN March, 2026
Filed under: Constitution, U.S., Constitution, state, Equal Protection Clause/Claims, Fines, Ability to Pay
California Supreme Court Announces Excessive Fines Clauses Are the Proper Method to Challenge Punitive Fines, Holds Equal Protection Requires Courts to Consider Defendant’s Inability to Pay Before Imposing Certain Ancillary Assessments Upon Request by David Kim by David Kim The Supreme Court of California granted review to resolve a split …
SCOTUS Clarifies Emergency-Aid Home Entries Require Only an “Objectively Reasonable Basis for Believing” an Occupant Faces Serious Danger, Rejecting a Probable-Cause Standard and Montana’s Terry-Like...
Article • February 1, 2026 • from CLN March, 2026
Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Probable Cause, Exigent Circumstances, Warrantless Searches, Motions To Suppress
SCOTUS Clarifies Emergency-Aid Home Entries Require Only an “Objectively Reasonable Basis for Believing” an Occupant Faces Serious Danger, Rejecting a Probable-Cause Standard and Montana’s Terry-Like Caretaker Test by Richard Resch by Richard Resch Resolving a Circuit split, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that police officers may …
SCOTUS Announces MVRA Restitution Constitutes Criminal Punishment Subject to Ex Post Facto Clause Protections
Article • February 1, 2026 • from CLN March, 2026
Filed under: Ex Post Facto, Restitution, Constitution, U.S., Statutory Construction/Interpretation
SCOTUS Announces MVRA Restitution Constitutes Criminal Punishment Subject to Ex Post Facto Clause Protections by David Kim by David Kim The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that restitution imposed under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 (“MVRA”) constitutes criminal punishment for purposes of the Ex Post …
Flock’s Gunshot Sensors Are Expanding to “Distress” Sounds
Article • February 1, 2026 • from CLN March, 2026
Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Recordings, Privacy Act/Rights
Flock’s Gunshot Sensors Are Expanding to “Distress” Sounds by Sagi Schwartzberg by Sagi Schwartzberg Flock Safety is a police technology company most notable for its extensive network of automated license plate readers throughout the United States. Recently, Flock released a new tool, Raven, an acoustic gunshot detection network of microphones. …
Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Unprotected Google Searches
Article • January 1, 2026 • from CLN February, 2026
Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Probable Cause, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Privacy Act/Rights, State Constitutional Claims
Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Unprotected Google Searches by David Kim by David Kim In an issue of first impression, the Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court (“OAJC”) concluded that a person who conducts general, unprotected internet searches …
Delaware Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must First Resolve Defense Counsel’s Motion to Withdraw Before Addressing Defendant’s Plea-­Withdrawal Request, Holding Failure to Do So Violates Sixth ...
Article • January 1, 2026 • from CLN February, 2026
Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Sixth Amendment, Counsel - Constructive denial of, Self-representation, Withdrawal
Delaware Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must First Resolve Defense Counsel’s Motion to Withdraw Before Addressing Defendant’s Plea-­Withdrawal Request, Holding Failure to Do So Violates Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel by David Kim by David Kim The Supreme Court of Delaware held that when defense counsel moves to withdraw after …
Ninth Circuit Announces Abandonment Doctrine Applies to Cellphones but Courts Must Analyze Intent to Abandon Device Separately From Intent to Abandon Data
Article • December 15, 2025 • from CLN January, 2026
Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Cell-Phones, Motions To Suppress, Digital Devices, Seizure
Ninth Circuit Announces Abandonment Doctrine Applies to Cellphones but Courts Must Analyze Intent to Abandon Device Separately From Intent to Abandon Data by David Kim by David Kim The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that while the abandonment doctrine applies to cellphones, courts must analyze …
SCOTUS Holds Sixth Amendment Requires Case-Specific Necessity Determination to Screen Child Witnesses, Rejecting Reliance on Mandatory State Statutes Based on Generalized Legislative Findings
Article • December 15, 2025 • from CLN January, 2026
Filed under: Sixth Amendment, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Video/Closed Circuit TV Testimony, Confrontation Clause
SCOTUS Holds Sixth Amendment Requires Case-Specific Necessity Determination to Screen Child Witnesses, Rejecting Reliance on Mandatory State Statutes Based on Generalized Legislative Findings by Richard Resch by Richard Resch In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed a divided Mississippi Supreme Court decision, holding that …
The Legal Fight for Homeowner Compensation After SWAT Raids
Article • December 15, 2025 • from CLN January, 2026
Filed under: Sovereign Immunity, Fifth Amendment, Constitution, state, Destruction of Property
The Legal Fight for Homeowner Compensation After SWAT Raids by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Homeowners are often left financially devastated and without clear legal recourse after police raids cause extensive property damage, forcing them to bear costs that many say should be the public’s responsibility. The case …
ICE Amasses Mass Surveillance Arsenal Targeting U.S. Citizens and Protesters
Article • November 15, 2025 • from CLN December, 2025
Filed under: Protests, First Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Electronic Surveillance
ICE Amasses Mass Surveillance Arsenal Targeting U.S. Citizens and Protesters by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), backed by new legislation passed in July 2025 called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is engaging in a never-before-seen expansion of mass surveillance technology. This technology …
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Police Cannot Execute Anticipatory Warrant Absent Triggering Event Regardless of Whether Factual Allegations in Warrant Affidavit Independently Give Rise...
Article • October 15, 2025 • from CLN November, 2025
Filed under: Search warrants, Fourth Amendment, rights, Probable Cause, Execution, State Constitutional Claims
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Police Cannot Execute Anticipatory Warrant Absent Triggering Event Regardless of Whether Factual Allegations in Warrant Affidavit Independently Give Rise to Probable Cause to Search, Thereby Providing Greater by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that “art. 14 of the …
Drones and License Plate Readers: Police Creating Warrantless Aerial Surveillance Networks
Article • October 15, 2025 • from CLN November, 2025
Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Warrantless Searches, Curtilege, Electronic Surveillance
Drones and License Plate Readers: Police Creating Warrantless Aerial Surveillance Networks by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Police adoption of drone-as-first-responder (“DFR”) programs is increasing and now integrating with automated license plate reader (“ALPR”) technology to create a potent new form of surveillance, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) …
Sixth Circuit: Erlinger Error Requires Resentencing Where Government Cannot Prove Beyond Reasonable Doubt That Jury Would Find Prior Offenses Committed on Different “Occasions”
Article • October 15, 2025 • from CLN November, 2025
Filed under: Sixth Amendment, Three Strikes Statutes/Rule, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Blakely/Booker, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range
Sixth Circuit: Erlinger Error Requires Resentencing Where Government Cannot Prove Beyond Reasonable Doubt That Jury Would Find Prior Offenses Committed on Different “Occasions” by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District …
How to Build a Human; A Forensics Company Tells Cops It Can Use DNA to Predict a Suspect’s Face. Scientists Worry the Tool Will Deepen Racial Bias.
Article • September 15, 2025 • from CLN October, 2025
Filed under: Forensic Sciences, Fourth Amendment, rights, DNA Evidence, Advanced Imaging Technology
How to Build a Human; A Forensics Company Tells Cops It Can Use DNA to Predict a Suspect’s Face. Scientists Worry the Tool Will Deepen Racial Bias. by Jordan Smith Originally published on February 2, 2025. Republished with permission from The Intercept https://theintercept.com/2025/02/02/forensic-dna-phenotyping-parabon-nanolabs-police/, an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to …
Colorado Supreme Court Announces Police Facilitating 
Drug-­Detection Dog’s Entry Into Vehicle by Opening Door 
During Traffic Stop Without Probable Cause Is Unconstitutional Search in Violation of Fo...
Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025
Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Drug-Sniffing Dog, Automobile Searches/Seizures
Colorado Supreme Court Announces Police Facilitating Drug-­Detection Dog’s Entry Into Vehicle by Opening Door During Traffic Stop Without Probable Cause Is Unconstitutional Search in Violation of Fourth Amendment by Anthony Accurso The Supreme Court of Colorado held that the police conducted an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment of a …
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