More from this issue:

1. Racism and Wrongful Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
2. Sixth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief After Michigan Court Violates Confrontation Clause, by Dale Chappell
3. Ninth Circuit: Mental Impairment that Prevented ‘Monitoring’ of Habeas Counsel’s Actions May Require Equitable Tolling, by Dale Chappell
4. Tenth Circuit Vacates District Court’s Order Sealing Plea Supplement, Explaining Local Court Rule Doesn’t Abrogate Common Law Right of Access to Judicial Records, by Douglas Ankney
5. Federal Judge Issues Order Reducing 40-Year Stacked § 924(c) Sentence Based on First Step Act Changes to Compassionate Release, by Chad Marks
6. Latest Forensic Technology, Pattern Analysis, May Be ‘Pseudoscience’, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
7. SCOTUS: Jury Verdicts Must Be Unanimous to Convict on Criminal Charges, Overruling Apodaca, by Douglas Ankney
8. ATF: What Is a Gun?, by Jayson Hawkins
9. Michigan Supreme Court Announces that Duress May be Asserted as an Affirmative Defense to Felony Murder, Overruling Gimotty and Etheridge, by Douglas Ankney
10. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Failure to Include ‘Or Others’ in Jury Instruction for Self-Defense Against Multiple Assailants Deprived Defendant of Defense, by Dale Chappell
11. Virus Vigilantes v. Virus Violators: Shunning, Shaming, or Policing COVID-19 May not Be the Cure, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
12. SCOTUS: Due Process Doesn’t Require States to Adopt a Specific Test for Determining Insanity, by Douglas Ankney
13. Fifth Circuit: Defendant Lacked Culpability in Attempting to Export Ammunition by Merely Purchasing It, by Anthony Accurso
14. Second Circuit: Habeas Petition Not Moot Where It Attacked Inactive Original Order That Gave Rise to Current Active Order Restraining Petitioner’s Liberty, by Douglas Ankney
15. Iowa Supreme Court Vacates Guilty Plea for Lack of Evidence and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, by David Reutter
16. Federal District Court Finds ‘Confusion’ Over Law in State Court Excused Late Filing of § 2255 Motion, by Dale Chappell
17. Seventh Circuit Reiterates IAC Requires Only ‘Reasonable Probability,’ Not ‘More Likely Than Not,’ of Different Outcome, by Dale Chappell
18. Divide and Conquer: New Algorithm Examines Crime-Scene Bullets Segment by Segment
19. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Files Statement on Court’s Refusal to Hear Habeas Case, Despite Deep Circuit Split, by Dale Chappell
20. SCOTUS: Knowledge that Driver’s License of Vehicle’s Registered Owner Was Revoked Provides Reasonable Suspicion to Initiate Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
21. Don’t Allow Government to Abuse Emergency Powers After COVID-19 Threat Subsides, by Douglas Ankney
22. Illinois Supreme Court: Failing to Stipulate Felon Status Allowing Jury to Hear About Murder Conviction Constitutes IAC, by Anthony Accurso
23. Notorious Louisiana Prosecutor Fired for Misconduct Technicality, by Edward Lyon
24. 10th Circuit: Evidence Insufficient to Support Conviction for Attempting to Kill Witness, by Douglas Ankney
25. $369,000 Settlement in Police Raid of Journalist’s Home and Office
26. Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of ‘Mixture’ as Used in State’s Controlled Substances Act, by Douglas Ankney
27. Colorado Supreme Court: Defendant Has No Duty to Bring Himself to Trial, by Douglas Ankney
28. Fifth Circuit Finds IAC for Failure to Object to Court’s Jury Instructions that Constructively Amended Indictment by Lowering Government’s Burden of Proof, by Dale Chappell
29. Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Cronic’s Presumption of Prejudice Triggered by Counsel Failing to Secure Interpreter for First Day of Trial, by Douglas Ankney
30. Ohio Supreme Court Announces New Standard for ‘Actual Racial Bias’ for Jurors and Holds Counsel Was Ineffective for Failing to Strike Racially Biased Juror, by Douglas Ankney
31. U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Fifth Circuit’s Rule Barring Plain-Error Review of Unpreserved Factual Arguments, by Dale Chappell
32. FBI’s Long History of Squelching Political Dissent Under the Guise of National Security, by Jayson Hawkins
33. Utah Supreme Court: Dismissal of Second Post-Conviction Petition Improper Where First Petition Voluntarily Withdrawn, by Douglas Ankney
34. No Consequences for Prosecutors’ Bad Behavior, by Jayson Hawkins
35. Nevada Supreme Court Rules Bail Determination Requires Due Process and Severs Unconstitutional Language from Bail Statute, by Douglas Ankney
36. Federal Court Overturns Conviction for Person Linked to Former Subway Spokesperson’s Child Porn Case, by Dale Chappell
37. Study Sheds Light on ‘Recidivism’ and Probation and Parole Violations, by Dale Chappell
38. Utah Residents Can Wind Up in Jail When They Miss Loan Payments, by Kevin Bliss
39. California Court of Appeal: Unoccupied Running Vehicle Doesn’t Justify Warrantless Search of Residence, by Douglas Ankney
40. Interpreting Emojis as Court Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
41. LAPD Officers Accused of Entering Names of Innocent People Into Gang Database, by Douglas Ankney
42. ‘No-Knock Raids’ an Increasing Danger to Public Safety, by Jayson Hawkins
43. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Standards for Exit Order and Patfrisk, by Anthony Accurso
44. A Mass Purge of Misconduct Records by Phoenix, Arizona Police, by Bill Barton
45. Cops in Missouri Exploit Loophole to Seize $2.6 Million from Innocent Citizens, by Douglas Ankney
46. How Old Is That Fingerprint?, by Douglas Ankney
47. News in Brief

More from Dale Chappell:

• Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
• How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
• Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
• Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
• Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
• The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
• Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
• Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023

More from these topics:

• Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Determining Whether a Defendant Is Entitled to Jury Instructions 
on Self-defense and Defense of Others, May 15, 2025. Defenses, Jury Instructions, Jury Instructions in Jury Room.
• SCOTUS: Honest-Services Fraud Jury Instructions Regarding Private Citizen Too Vague, June 15, 2023. Vagueness/Overbreadth, Jury Instructions in Jury Room.
• SCOTUS Announces Government Must Prove Physicians in § 841 Prosecutions ‘Knowingly and Intentionally’ Exceeded Their Authorization to Prescribe Controlled Substances, Such as Opioids, Sept. 15, 2022. Knowingly and Intelligently, Jury Instructions in Jury Room, Drug Equivalency Tables.
• Maryland Court of Appeals: Kazadi Applies to Cases Where Issue Was Preserved at Trial but Appeal Not Yet Noted at Time Kazadi Decided, July 15, 2022. Jury Instructions in Jury Room, Claim of Innocence.
• Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Reasonable Likelihood’ Framework for Determining Whether Trial Court’s Comments to Prospective Jurors Lowered Prosecution’s Burden of Proof, July 15, 2022. Jury Instructions in Jury Room, Burden of Proof, Improper Comment.
• California Court of Appeal Grants Habeas Relief Over Failure to Instruct Jury on ‘Heat of Passion’, Sept. 15, 2020. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Jury Instructions in Jury Room.