More from this issue:

1. Staggering Injustice, by Derek Gilna
2. Fifth Circuit Vacates Sentence Eight Times Higher Than Guidelines Range That Was Imposed Without Explanation, by Dale Chappell
3. Federal Habeas Corpus: Retroactivity of New Rules, by Dale Chappell
4. Sex Panic: The War on Sex Offenders as Public Enemy Number One, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
5. Fourth Circuit Announces Payton’s ‘Reason to Believe’ Standard for Entering a Third-Party’s Home Based on Arrest Warrant for Suspect Amounts to Probable Cause Suspect Resides There, by Douglas Ankney
6. Colorado Supreme Court: Dividing Multiple Images of Child Pornography Into Multiple Batches to Charge Multiple Counts Violates Double Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
7. First Circuit: Double Jeopardy Protections Bar Government From Seeking Death Penalty at Retrial Where Jury’s Verdict Not Imposing Death at First Trial Ambiguous, and Trial Court Prematurely Declared Mistrial, by Douglas Ankney
8. Fired San Francisco Cop Charged With Manslaughter for Fatally Shooting Unarmed Suspect, by Dale Chappell
9. California Supreme Court Vacates Murder Conviction, Finds IAC for Failure to Obtain Expert Testimony on Time of Death, by Dale Chappell
10. Ninth Circuit: Reasonable Suspicion Justifying Traffic Stop Doesn’t Provide Probable Cause to Open Door and Lean Inside Vehicle, by Douglas Ankney
11. Police Say Seizing Property Without Trial Helps Keep Crime Down. A New Study Shows They’re Wrong., by Ian MacDougall
12. New York Court of Appeals Reverses Denial of Suppression Motion Where Prosecution Fails to Provide Specific Facts to Show Traffic Stop Was Lawful, by Douglas Ankney
13. Michigan Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment to Protect Electronic Data and Communications, by Anthony Accurso
14. Kansas Supreme Court Clarifies State Law Does Not Preclude Consent to Search Through Nonverbal Conduct, by Douglas Ankney
15. Sixth Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Government Failed to Prove Sentencing Enhancements Apply, by Dale Chappell
16. Eighth Circuit Announces ‘Use of Minor’ Enhancement Inapplicable for Merely Buying Firearm From Minor, by Dale Chappell
17. Illinois Supreme Court Announces Guilty Plea Doesn’t Bar Postconviction Claim of Actual Innocence and Provides Framework for Review, by Douglas Ankney
18. Illinois Supreme Court Announces Predicate Offenses of Home Invasion Statute are Lesser-Included Offenses of Home Invasion Statute, by Douglas Ankney
19. Eleventh Circuit Announces Drug Offenses Involving Multiple Drugs Can Qualify as ‘Covered Offense’ Under First Step Act if Crack One of the Drugs, by Dale Chappell
20. Montana Supreme Court: Statistical Evidence on False Accusations of Rape Improperly Bolstered Witness Credibility, by Anthony Accurso
21. SCOTUS Vacates Grant of Habeas Relief, Citing Habeas ‘Deference’ to State Court Decisions, by Dale Chappell
22. Eleventh Circuit: District Court ‘Mischaracterizing’ Habeas Claim Left Claim Unresolved in Violation of Clisby, Requiring Remand, by Dale Chappell
23. New York Man Exonerated of Murder and Freed After 25 Years in Prison, by Douglas Ankney
24. Predator or Patsy? Long Sentences for Those Caught in Victimless Child Sex Stings
25. Ninth Circuit: Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Dismissal of Indictment, by Dale Chappell
26. Fourth Circuit: Commercial Vehicle Permit Requirement Insufficient Grounds to Initiate Traffic Stop, by Anthony Accurso
27. Eleventh Circuit: Private Probation Company With Financial Interest in its Sentencing Decisions Violates Due Process, by David Reutter
28. California Court of Appeal: Confrontation Clause Violation Where Supervisor, Not Lab Tech Who Performed Drug Tests, Testified at Trial, by Anthony Accurso
29. Fifth Circuit: Conviction Vacated Because No Reasonable Suspicion to Search Person in High-Crime Area, by Anthony Accurso
30. Third Circuit: IAC Where Counsel Failed to Object to Accomplice-Liability Jury Instruction in Murder Case That Relieved State of Proving Specific Intent, by Dale Chappell
31. Data Expose Demographics of Police Dog Bites, by Jayson Hawkins
32. Seventh Circuit: Prisoner Has Right to Know Conditions of Supervised Release Prior to Being Released, by Douglas Ankney
33. When a Hung Jury Is Enough, by Jayson Hawkins
34. Audit of D.C. Forensics Lab Reveals History of Botched Forensic Analyses, by Casey Bastian
35. Multi-Agency Task Forces Manipulate Jurisdiction to Avoid Liability, by Casey Bastian
36. Inadequate and Outdated Training Results in Wild West Policing, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
37. New Michigan Law Expands Criminal Records Expungement, by Casey Bastian
38. Athlete Settles Tasing Suit Against Milwaukee Police, by Edward Lyon
39. Eighth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief, Finds Arkansas Supreme Court Wrongly Denied Defendant’s Self-Representation Request, by Dale Chappell
40. Police Unions Block Meaningful Criminal Justice Reform, by Casey Bastian
41. How Arkansas Criminalizes Poverty, by Jayson Hawkins
42. California Law Enforcement Strikes Out in 2020 Elections, by Kevin Bliss
43. Massive Corruption of a Baltimore Task Force Exposed, by Casey Bastian
44. NYPD Agrees to Alter Religious Headwear Policy, by Casey Bastian
45. Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces Requirement Prosecution Prove Defendant Knew Firearm Was Loaded Applies Retroactively, by Douglas Ankney
46. Prosecutors Who Demand Accountability From Everyone But Themselves, by Casey Bastian
47. News in Brief
48. Louisiana Supreme Court Vacates Murder Conviction for Speedy Trial Violation, by Dale Chappell

More from Dale Chappell:

• 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
• Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise a Fourth Amendment Claim, Feb. 15, 2023
• Will Overturning Roe v. Wade Kill the Right to Abortion Under BOP Policy?, Jan. 1, 2023

More from these topics:

• Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff, Feb. 15, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Offense of Conviction.
• The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Parole Liability, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
• Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Revocation Proceedings, Overreaching.
• After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Attempts/Incomplete Acts, Credits, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures.
• Seventh Circuit Announces Maximum Revocation Sentence for Violation of Supervised Release Based on Classification of Underlying Offense at Time of Conviction, Not at Time of Revocation, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation Proceedings.
• California Supreme Court Announces Retroactivity of 2022 Version of Penal Code § 1170 to Upper-Term Sentences Imposed Before Its Enactment, Dec. 15, 2024. Retroactivity, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
• First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement by Implicitly Arguing for Upward Variant Sentence by Including Pictures and Video of Defendant That Allegedly Depict His Criminal Tendencies in Sentencing Memo, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Grounds for Variance, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Grounds.
• Fifth Circuit Judges Battle in Louisiana Over-Detention Cases, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Overdetention, Credits.
• California Supreme Court Announces Uncharged and Unproven Offense-Specific Enhancements May Not Be Imposed Under § 1172.6(e) Resentencing, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• Third Circuit: Despite ‘Expressly and Repeatedly’ Requesting Low-End Sentence, Government Breached Plea Agreement by Emphasizing ‘Heinous’ Nature of Offense and Presenting Victim-Impact Evidence at Sentencing Thereby Undermining Recommendation, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Reduction of Sentence, Proffer Agreements/Statements/Sessions.