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Fourth Circuit: Standalone Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Vacatur of Guilty Plea
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the district court’s failure to give a defendant notice that he belonged to a class of persons prohibited from possessing a firearm during his plea colloquy constitutes a structural error that requires his …
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More from this issue:
- A Nation on the Brink, by Christopher Zoukis
- Office of Homeland Security Circumventing Warrant Requirement by Buying Cellphone Location Data from Marketing Firm, by Anthony Accurso
- From the Editor, by Richard Resch
- Using Location Surveillance to Fight COVID-19 May Chill Free Speech and Association, by David Reutter
- This Is Not a Revolution. It’s a Blueprint for Locking Down the Nation, by John W. Whitehead
- Fourth Circuit Expands Savings Clause of § 2255(e) to Include Later Retroactivity of New Rule, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit: Defendant’s Statement Given to Pretrial Services Can’t Be Admitted to Impeach Witness at Trial, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal Explains Procedural Requirements for Vacating Felony-Murder Conviction Via Section 1170.95 Petition, by Douglas Ankney
- Police Violence Detrimental to Public Health, by Douglas Ankney
- Congressmen File Amicus Brief Stressing Congressional Intent That First Step Act’s New Drug Laws Apply at Resentencing, by Dale Chappell
- Indiana Supreme Court: Removal of Police’s GPS Tracker on Suspect’s Vehicle Not Probable Cause of Theft, Suppression of Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
- New Hampshire Supreme Court: Police Violated Miranda in Obtaining First Statement, and State Failed to Prove Second Statement Was Voluntary, by Douglas Ankney
- 5-Year Study Shows Police Stop Black Drivers Less Often at Night When ‘Veil of Darkness’ Obscures Race, by Douglas Ankney
- Declassified Court Ruling Details FBI Abuses of Mass Surveillance Data, by Anthony Accurso
- Second Circuit: Three Important Rulings Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
- Marijuana Possession in Virginia Remains Illegal But Is Decriminalized, by Douglas Ankney
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Doesn’t Trigger Career Offender Enhancement, by Dale Chappell
- Biden Accuser Accused of Inflating Credentials to Qualify as Expert Witness, Calling Convictions into Question, by Derek Gilna
- COVID-19 Creates Opportunity for Big Brother in the Sky, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Perjurous New York City Cop Sentenced to a Single Day in Jail, by Edward Lyon
- Fourth Circuit: Standalone Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Vacatur of Guilty Plea, by David Reutter
- Nebraska Supreme Court: Multiple Theft Charges for Stealing Items Belonging to Several People at Same Time and Place Violates Double Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
- Is the Death Penalty Slowly Dying Across the Nation?, by Chad Marks
- Joint State-Federal Task Forces Practice Rogue Justice Under Protection of Qualified Immunity, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Colorado Supreme Court: Requiring Defense to Disclose Exhibits to Prosecution Before Trial Violates Due Process Rights, by Dale Chappell
- Iowa Supreme Court Orders Dismissal of Charges that State Brought in Breach of Plea Agreement, by Douglas Ankney
- Carpenter Slowly Remaking Fourth Amendment Case Law, by Anthony Accurso
- Justice Office Awards $145 Million in Forensic Science Grants, by Anthony Accurso
- Aggressive NYPD Police Tactics Spreading COVID-19, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- California Federal Court Rejects Plea Agreement’s Waiver of Compassionate Release Provision, by David Reutter
- COVID-19 Causing Some Pretrial Detainees to Spend More Time in Jail, by Douglas Ankney
- California Supreme Court Announces Sentencing Law Changes Apply Until Revocation Sentence Becomes Final, by Anthony Accurso
- NY Court of Appeals: Right to Review Suppression Decision When Decision Relates Solely to a Count Satisfied by Plea but Isn’t Count to Which Defendant Pled, by Douglas Ankney
- Report: Cops Ill-Equipped to Handle Mental Illness Crisis in Hospitals, by Edward Lyon
- Plenty of Practice Prevents Poor Police Performance, by Edward Lyon
- Fifth Circuit Clarifies How ‘Pronouncement Requirement’ Applies to Supervision Conditions, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit: Sentence Imposed Under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(c) Is ‘Covered Offense’ Under § 404 of First Step Act, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit: Courts May Consider Good Prison Conduct in Sentence Reduction Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
- Minnesota Supreme Court: Hotel Guests Have Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Registry Information, by Douglas Ankney
- DNA Database of NYC’s Chief Medical Examiner Plagued with Errors, by Douglas Ankney
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Expired Vehicle Registration Isn’t ‘Breach of the Peace’ Justifying Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
- South Carolina Supreme Court Rejects U.S. Supreme Court’s Shifting of Burden to Defendant to Prove Absence of Exigent Circumstances in DUI Cases, by Douglas Ankney
- Report: Risk Assessment Tools not Effective, Especially When not Used, by Kevin Bliss
- Sixth Circuit: District Court’s Refusal to Reduce Crack Sentence Under First Step Act Requires Justification, by Dale Chappell
- Florida Supreme Court Abandons Circumstantial Evidence Review Standard, by David Reutter
- Courts Oppose Prosecutors’ Attempts to Right Past Wrongs, by Douglas Ankney
- No Trust Between Police and Communities They Patrol, by Kevin Bliss
- North Carolina Supreme Court: Giving Finger to Police Not Disorderly Conduct Justifying Traffic Stop, by Dale Chappell
- COVID-19 May Ring in a New Era of High-Tech Private Policing, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- New Technique Separates Mixed DNA Evidence to Tell Suspects from Victims, by Dale Chappell
- Feds Ramp up Purchase of Riot Gear in Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Vacates Firearms Possession Conviction; Government Showed Jury Unauthenticated Prejudicial Facebook Video Not Admitted as Evidence, by Matthew Clarke
- Army Veteran Serving Life Without Parole for Taking $9, by Douglas Ankney
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- The Malleable Mind in the Courtroom: Why Confident Eyewitnesses Often Provide the Least Reliable Evidence, Oct. 15, 2025
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Claim Based on Guard’s Thwarting of Administrative Remedies, Aug. 1, 2025
- Tenth Circuit Ruling Paves Way for $2.7 Million Settlement for Intellectually Disabled Jail Detainee Raped by Sheriff, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025
- Qualified Immunity Denied for Iowa Prison Doctor’s MRI Delay for Non-Medical Reasons, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit: Continuing-Violations Doctrine Applies for PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Purposes, Aug. 1, 2025
- First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, Not Specific Performance by District Court, Aug. 1, 2025
- Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages for Future Lost Income More Easily, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Courts Have Inherent Authority to Correct Unauthorized Sentences at Any Time Without Habeas Petition, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Authorized, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Effect of Vacatur.
- Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Division of Correction Must Immediately Apply Time-Served Credit Against Valid Sentences When Convictions Are Vacated and May Not Toll Execution Pending Reprosecution; New Sentences Arising From New Convictions Take, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Effect of Vacatur, Credits, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
- Florida Prisoner Returns to Custody After Overturned Conviction Reinstated, May 1, 2025. False Statements/Perjury, Resentencing, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Effect of Vacatur, Brady/Giglio/Jencks Act Issues.
- California Supreme Court: Defendant Has Due Process Right to Notice of Prosecution’s Election to Seek Enhanced Sentence in Order to Make Key Decisions About Defense, June 15, 2024. Notice - Adequacy of.
- New York Court of Appeals: Call Intercepted on Wiretap Not Exempt From Statutory Notice Requirements Simply Because Same Call Captured on Separate, Consensual Recording by Jail, Sept. 1, 2023. Notice - Adequacy of, Evidence - Admissibility/Exclusion of.
- Ninth Circuit Upholds Order Vacating Conviction in Oregon Prison Director’s 1989 Murder; SCOTUS Declines Review, May 1, 2023. Prison/Jail Murders, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Effect of Vacatur.
- Ninth Circuit Announces Irizarry Didn’t Eliminate Wise Requirement That Sentencing Court Provide Notice of Special Conditions of Supervised Release Prior to Imposing Sentence, March 15, 2022. Notice - Adequacy of, Special Conditions.
- Fourth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Prison Official Who Gave Prisoner No Notice Before Hearing That Resulted in Transfer to Security Detention, Feb. 1, 2022. Retaliatory Transfers, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Notice - Adequacy of.
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Vacatur of Death Sentence Based on Newly Discovered Evidence of Defendant’s Intellectual Disability, March 15, 2021. Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability, Effect of Vacatur.
- U.S. v. Ciavarella, No. 11-3277 (3rd Cir.) (716 F.3d 705) (May 24, 2013) (Judge Julio M. Fuentes), May 27, 2013. Punch And Jurists, Effect of Vacatur.





