More from this issue:

1. News in Brief
2. Cops Killed Nearly 13 Times More People Than Mass Shooters, by Bill Barton
3. U.S. District Judge Blows Open ATF Fake Stash-House Stings, Wants to Know Why They Only Target Minorities, by Dale Chappell
4. New Jersey Tightens Reins on Civil Asset Forfeiture, by Douglas Ankney
5. Nevada Supreme Court: 26-Month Delay Between Charges and Arrest Constitutes Speedy Trial Violation, by Anthony Accurso
6. New York to Seal Convictions for Small Amounts of Marijuana
7. Warrant Gives Police Access to DNA Database, by Jayson Hawkins
8. Rhode Island Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Due to Prosecutor’s Remarks and Jury Consideration of Inadmissible Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
9. Colorado Supreme Court Announces Implied Bias the Same as Actual Juror Bias, Requiring Automatic Reversal, by Anthony Accurso
10. Racial Disparity at Sentencing on the Rise, by Anthony Accurso
11. NYC Drug Prosecutor Bucks Trend of Releasing List of Cops with Credibility Issues, by Douglas Ankney
12. Louisiana Supreme Court: State Abused Charging Authority by Dismissing and Reinstituting Charges to Circumvent Adverse Court Ruling, by Anthony Accurso
13. Jury Nullification as a Cure for Prosecutorial Overreach, by Anthony Accurso
14. New Lie Detectors Are On the Way, But Are They Better Than the Old One?, by Anthony Accurso
15. California Supreme Court: Positioning Computer Monitor to Obstruct Defendant’s View of Complaining Witness Violates Confrontation Clause, by Douglas Ankney
16. Ohio Supreme Court: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Analysis Applies to Failure to Seek Waiver of Court Costs, by David M. Reutter
17. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Police Must Inform Arrested Driver That Passenger Can Assume Custody of Vehicle if Lawful and Practical as Alternative to Impoundment, by Douglas Ankney
18. California Court of Appeal: Hunch That Proves Correct Is Not Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
19. Sex Offenders Go to W.A.R., by Edward Lyon
20. New Orleans Sheriff’s Office Tracked Cellphones Absent Warrants, by Chad Marks
21. Nevada Supreme Court: Duress Defense May be Used for Non-Death Penalty Charges, Even When Connected to Charges Punishable by Death, by Dale Chappell
22. Reform-Minded Prosecutors Use Charging Discretion to Benefit Communities, by Anthony Accurso
23. Kansas Supreme Court: Claim of Illegal Sentence Raised for First Time on Appeal Entitled to Merits Review, by Michael Berk
24. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds Retention of Defendant’s ID Card Constitutes ‘Seizure’ for Fourth Amendment Purposes, by Dale Chappell
25. Sex Offender Registries Grounded in False Notions, by Anthony Accurso
26. Third Circuit Holds ‘Bare’ Arrest Record Insufficient to Support Higher Sentence, by Dale Chappell
27. Fact or Fiction, Television Crime Shows Ignore Racism and Reality, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
28. The Faulty Science of Breathalyzers, by Jayson Hawkins
29. Sixth Circuit: Ohio’s Stringent Post-Conviction Filing Deadline Opens Window for Federal Review Under Trevino, by Anthony Accurso
30. Maryland Court of Appeals Announces, When Requested, Trial Courts Must Ask During Voir Dire Whether Jurors Will Follow Court’s Instructions on Presumption of Innocence, Burden of Proof, and Right Not to Testify, by Douglas Ankney
31. Louisiana Supreme Court: When an Identified Attorney Seeks to Assist a Person in Custody and Police Fail to Inform the Person, Inculpatory Statements Must Be Suppressed, by Douglas Ankney
32. D.C. Circuit: 18 U.S.C. § 1114 Does Not Apply Overseas But § 924(c) Does, by Douglas Ankney
33. Third Circuit: Confrontation Clause Violated When Jury Is Told ‘Other Guy’ Referenced in Non-Testifying Codefendant’s Statement Is the Defendant, by Douglas Ankney
34. Georgia Supreme Court Overrules 50 Years of Jurisprudence and Announces Courts Are to Consider Cumulative Prejudice of Trial Court and Counsel Errors, by Douglas Ankney
35. Ninth Circuit Orders Habeas Relief After California Concedes Conviction Should Be Overturned Due to Defense Counsel’s ‘Virulent Racism’, by Douglas Ankney
36. Michigan Supreme Court: Defendant Entitled to Self-defense Jury Instruction, by David M. Reutter
37. Seventh Circuit Holds Brain Injury May Allow Equitable Tolling to File Late Habeas Petition, by Dale Chappell
38. Life Sentence for Murder Overturned by New DNA Technology, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
39. Expert’s Burn-Pattern Conclusions Flawed, by David M. Reutter
40. New York’s SARA Requirements Force Sex-Offenders into Homelessness Then Hold Them in Prison Due to Their Homelessness, by Kevin Bliss
41. Law Review Article Zeros in on Roadblocks to Plea Bargain Fairness and Effectiveness, by David M. Reutter
42. Kansas Supreme Court: State Failed to Prove Building Was a Dwelling, by Douglas Ankney
43. Maine Supreme Court Declares Blood Draw Statute Unconstitutional, Overruling Cormier, by Douglas Ankney
44. Utah District Court Finds First Step Act Gives Court Authority to Reduce Stacked 55-Year § 924(c) Sentence, by Chad Marks
45. Seventh Circuit Vacates Guilty Pleas Based on Misinformation of Mandatory Minimum, by David M. Reutter
46. More Trainings Are Not the Answer to Police Violence Against Disabled People, by Euree Kim
47. Sixth Circuit Adopts ‘Naked Eye Test’ for Altered Firearm Serial Number Enhancement, by Dale Chappell
48. Connecticut Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for Confrontation Clause Claims; Reverses and Remands for a New Trial, by Douglas Ankney
49. Spirited (But Problematic?) Advocacy for Bernie Madoff to Receive Compassionate Relief, by Professor Douglas A. Berman
50. Iowa Supreme Court: Officer’s Delay of Traffic Stop to Investigate Other Matters Unconstitutional, by David M. Reutter
51. The Rise of Smart Camera Networks, and Why We Should Ban Them, by Michael Kwet

More from Michael Berk:

• Kansas Supreme Court: Claim of Illegal Sentence Raised for First Time on Appeal Entitled to Merits Review, March 18, 2020
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces New Test in Comparing Out-of-State Priors for Sentence Enhancement for Repeat Sex Offenders, Feb. 19, 2020
• Tenth Circuit: ‘Relevant Background Law’ Trumps Unclear Record in Granting § 2255 Relief From Johnson Error, Nov. 18, 2019
• Ninth Circuit: Drug Quantity in PSR Adopted by Sentencing Court not Binding in § 3582(c)(2) Sentence Reduction Proceedings, Oct. 16, 2019
• Arrest for Shouting ‘F—k You’ to Arkansas Trooper Violates First and Fourth Amendments Rights, Eighth Circuit Rules, Sept. 17, 2019
• Change to New York Misdemeanor Definition May Benefit Non-Citizens, Aug. 19, 2019
• Eighth Circuit Overlooks Procedural Default, Orders Immediate Release From Excessive ACCA Sentence Based on Prior Sex Offense, July 17, 2019
• Fifth Circuit: Plain Error Requiring Resentencing Where Court Didn’t Give Defendant Chance to Speak at Sentencing Hearing and Prospective Allocution Provided Added Details to Lead Reasonable Judge to Reconsider Harsh Sentence, July 16, 2019
• ‘DNA Mixtures,’ ‘Touch DNA,’ and Software-Enhanced Forensic DNA Analysis, July 16, 2019
• Suspected Mishandling of DNA Tests Puts Cases on Hold in Fort Worth, Texas, May 15, 2019

More from these topics:

• Wisconsin Supreme Court: Jail Time Must Be Credited When Charge Causing Jailing Read in At Sentencing, Jan. 1, 2024. Sentencing, Good Time, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Credits.
• Fourth Circuit Rejects Appeal of $700,000 Award to Maryland Prisoner Assaulted by Guards, May 1, 2023. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Appeals.
• U.S. District Court Chooses Judicial Remedy, Instead of § 2255, to Allow Out-of-Time Appeal, July 15, 2020. Appeals, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel.
• Changing Perception, Changing The Law, April 15, 2020. Sentencing, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
• Seventh Circuit: Trial Judge Violated 5th Amendment by Modifying Instructions to Allow Jury to Convict on Offenses Not Charged in Indictment, April 15, 2020. Sentencing.
• SCOTUS: ‘Serious Drug Offense’ Under ACCA Is Self-Defining, Match with Equivalent Federal Offense Not Required, April 15, 2020. Sentencing.
• Illinois Prisoner Locked Up Decades Without a Conviction or Sentence, April 1, 2020. Criminal Prosecution, Sentencing.
• Racial Disparity at Sentencing on the Rise, March 18, 2020. Racial Discrimination, Sentencing.
• Utah District Court Finds First Step Act Gives Court Authority to Reduce Stacked 55-Year § 924(c) Sentence, March 18, 2020. Sentencing.
• Unsurprisingly Lenient Sentence for Rapist Cop, Feb. 19, 2020. Police Misconduct, Sentencing, Police.