More from this issue:

1. Acquitted Conduct Sentencing, by Douglas Ankney
2. Mental Health Response Teams Proved Effective in New York City, by Casey Bastian
3. ‘Planning for Losing’: A Lesson on Justice Reform from Afghanistan, by Marc Levin
4. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Defendant Satisfied Requirements of Confession and Avoidance, ‘Unintentional Self-Defense’ Jury Instruction Allowed Against Charge of Intentional Offense, by Douglas Ankney
5. Fourth Circuit: State’s Failure to Plead Procedural Default Results in De Novo Review on Merits; Prosecutor’s Comments to Jury to Send ‘Societal Message’ Denied Defendant Fair Trial, Habeas Relief Warranted, by Dale Chappell
6. Mental Illness and False Confessions: A Wakeup Call to Investigators, by Joseph Buckley
7. Georgia Supreme Court Declares ‘Relevance’ Not Legal Standard for Suppression Determination Where Items Seized Outside Scope of Warrant, Clarifies Plain View Doctrine Proper Standard, and Overrules McBee, Walsh Line of Cases, by Anthony Accurso
8. Michigan Supreme Court Announces 2011 SORA May Not Be Retroactively Applied to Registrants Whose Offenses Predated Its Enactment Because Doing So Violates Prohibition on Ex Post Facto Laws, by Douglas Ankney
9. California Now Able to Decertify Bad Cops, by Edward Lyon
10. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Although Subsequent Indictment Recites Same Language as Original Indictment, SOL Isn’t Tolled Where Subsequent Indictment Fails to Charge Same Conduct, Act, or Transaction, by Douglas Ankney
11. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Trial Court Abused Discretion by Refusing to Allow Withdrawal of Jury-Trial Waiver for Defendant Who Ultimately Rejected Plea Deal, by David Reutter
12. Idaho Supreme Court Rejects ‘Instinctive Entry Rule’ as Not Implicating Fourth Amendment Where Drug-Sniffing Dog Breaches Interior of Vehicle During Exterior Search and Suppresses Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
13. SCOTUS Announces Pursuit of a Misdemeanant Does Not Categorically Constitute an Exigent Circumstance Authorizing a Warrantless Home Entry, by Douglas Ankney
14. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces New Framework for Enforcing Right to Effective Counsel in Post-Conviction Relief Act Proceeding, by Douglas Ankney
15. Connecticut Supreme Court Overrules Aquino, Holding Appeal Not Moot Where Defendant Deported During Pendency but Unclear Whether Appealed Conviction Sole Basis for Deportation, by Douglas Ankney
16. Nevada Supreme Court: Prisoner’s Claim He Is Now Actually Innocent of Death Penalty Sufficient to Overcome Proce-dural Bars to Habeas Relief, by Douglas Ankney
17. California Court of Appeal: Peremptory Challenge to Judge in Habeas Case Subject to 10-Day Filing Period, Not 60 Days, Under § 170.6(a)(1), by Dale Chappell
18. SCOTUS: Rehaif Error Doesn’t Automatically Require Reversal of Conviction, Plain-Error Test Must Be Satisfied for Re-lief, by Dale Chappell
19. Oregon Supreme Court Announces Abandonment of Per Se Exigency Rule in Automobile Exception and Holds Warrantless Seizure or Search Must Be Based on Actual Exigent Circumstances, by Jacob Barrett
20. Tenth Circuit, Joining Sister Circuits, Announces ‘Personal-Use’ Drug Quantity Doesn’t Constitute ‘Relevant Conduct’ Under Guidelines § 1B1.3(a) and Sets Forth Framework for Burden of Proof Analysis, by Douglas Ankney
21. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Bodycam Video Subsequently Reviewed in Unrelated Investigation Constitutes Unconstitutional Warrantless Search, by Anthony Accurso
22. Concealed Videos Expose Pattern of Abuse by Louisiana State Police, by Jayson Hawkins
23. Vermont Supreme Court Announces Proper Legal Standard for Warrantless Search of Home’s Curtilage, by Anthony Accurso
24. Eighth Circuit: Inadmissible Hearsay Improperly Used to Revoke Supervised Release, by Matthew Clarke
25. Facial Recognition Run-Down, by Anthony Accurso
26. Rutgers University Pioneers New Jersey Innocence Project, by Casey Bastian
27. Massachusetts Remains a Civil Forfeiture Outlier, by Jayson Hawkins
28. Sixth Circuit: Michigan’s Ordinarily ‘Adequate’ Contemporaneous-Objection Rule, in Unique Circumstances, May Not Procedurally Bar Federal Habeas Review, by Dale Chappell
29. Non-Prosecution Policies Seem to Work in Baltimore, by Jayson Hawkins
30. DEA Continues to Seize Money Without Proof of Criminality, by Casey Bastian
31. Florida’s Catch-22 for the Innocent Defendant (and Others Wishing to Protect Their Right Against Self-Incrimination), by M. Eve Hanan
32. Big Tech Using Third Parties to Sell Surveillance Tools to ICE and Border Patrol, by Anthony Accurso
33. Pegasus Software: State-sponsored Spyware Usage Likely Infecting Billions of Phones, by Casey Bastian
34. Armed Police Drones Are Coming, by Anthony Accurso
35. News in Brief

More from Anthony Accurso:

• D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Feb. 15, 2025
• $220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal, Feb. 15, 2025
• Colorado Supreme Court Holds Defendant Was in ‘Custody’ for Miranda Purposes Because She Had Hands Bagged and Zip Tied, Commanded Not to Remove Them, and Questioned Alone in Interrogation Room With Door Closed, Feb. 15, 2025
• First Circuit Holds No Emergency-Aid Exception to Warrant Requirement Where Police Have Information That Subject Is Already Deceased, Feb. 15, 2025
• Police Departments Are Now Using AI to Write Reports, Feb. 15, 2025
• Illinois Supreme Court Announces Odor of Burnt Cannabis Alone Is Insufficient to Establish Probable Cause for a Warrantless Vehicle Search, Feb. 1, 2025
• Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints, Feb. 1, 2025
• Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Relief Where Both Trial and Appellate Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Challenge Indictment for Residential Burglary That Failed to Allege Defendant Illegally Entered a ‘Dwelling’, Jan. 15, 2025
• Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated, Jan. 15, 2025
• Nevada Supreme Court Announces Incorporated Probable Cause Affidavit Cannot Broaden Scope of Warrant’s Description of Places and Persons to be Searched or Items to Be Seized, Dec. 1, 2024

More from these topics:

• Settlement Bars Family Separations at U.S. Border Until 2031, Pays $6.4 Million in Legal Fees and Costs, March 1, 2025. Settlements, Family, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Immigration Law/Offenses.
• Reining in Police Monitoring of Social Media, Feb. 15, 2025. Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Racial/Ethnic Bias/Profiling, Social Media, Racial Bias Exception.
• Law Enforcement Obscures Use of Facial Recognition Technology, Feb. 15, 2025. Computer Searches, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Police/Govt Misconduct.
• A Gift America Can’t Return: The Police State Is America’s New Crime Boss, Feb. 15, 2025. Police State-Surveillance.
• Chicago’s Police Body Cam Transparency, Feb. 1, 2025. Videotaping, Police, Police State-Surveillance.
• Careful What You Search For, Feb. 1, 2025. Computer Searches, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
• Federal Law Enforcement Using Banks to Circumvent Warrant Requirement in Surveilling Sensitive Financial Data of Americans, Dec. 15, 2024. Police State-Surveillance, Exception to Warrant Requirement, Bank/Financial Institution.
• You’d Better Watch Out: The Surveillance State Is Making a List, and You’re On It, Dec. 15, 2024. Databases, Police State-Surveillance.
• Cell-Site Simulator Proposal: A Glimpse Inside the Black Box Whose Secrets Are Protected by NDAs and Obfuscation, Dec. 1, 2024. Police State-Surveillance, Cell-Site-Location Records, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI").
• Chula Vista’s Police Drones, Dec. 1, 2024. Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Use of Drones.