More from this issue:

1. Blue Lies Matter, by Nia T. Evans
2. Missouri Supreme Court: Witness’ Two-Way Live Video Feed Testimony Violates Confrontation Clause, by Jacob Barrett
3. Federal Habeas Corpus: Jurisdictional Pitfalls When Seeking Habeas Relief, by Dale Chappell
4. New Jersey Supreme Court: Description of Race and Gender of Robbery Suspects, Without More, Doesn’t Constitute Reasonable Suspicion for Investigatory Traffic Stop of Black Motorists, by Mark Wilson
5. Commentary: Attacking the Guilty Plea—Court Cautions More Time Possible in Child Porn Case if Post-Conviction Motion Successful, by Dale Chappell
6. SCOTUS: No Procedural-Default Exceptions to Excuse Federal Habeas Evidentiary Hearing Bar, by Dale Chappell
7. Ohio Supreme Court: Constitutionality of Indeterminate Sentence Under Reagan Tokes Law May Be Challenged on Direct Appeal, by David M. Reutter
8. Idaho Supreme Court: Telephonic Testimony Violated Defendant’s Sixth Amendment Right to Confrontation, by David M. Reutter
9. Ninth Circuit Holds Statute Criminalizing Encouraging or Inducing Alien to Reside in U.S. Is Overbroad and Facially Unconstitutional, by Mark Wilson
10. Federal Prosecutors Directed to Stop Obtaining Compassionate Release Waivers From Defendants During Plea Agreements and to Not Enforce Previously Obtained Waivers, by Harold Hempstead
11. Cop Training Other Cops to Use Facial Recognition to ID Individuals During Traffic Stops, by Anthony Accurso
12. Seventh Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Exercise Discretion After Erroneously Finding Defendant Ineligible for Relief Under First Step Act Was Abuse of Discretion, by Douglas Ankney
13. Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Where District Court’s Rationale for Defendant’s Offense Level Unclear, by Douglas Ankney
14. Supreme Court of Iowa: Sentence Vacated Because Prosecution Failed to Follow Spirit of Plea Agreement Requiring Recommendation of Suspended Sentence, by David M. Reutter
15. California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Violated Humphrey by Setting High Bail Without Considering Financial Condition of Defendant or Nonfinancial Conditions of Release, by Matthew Clarke
16. U.S. Treasury Bypasses Fourth Amendment by Buying Location Data for Law Enforcement Purposes, by Anthony Accurso
17. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Coty’s ‘Inference-of-Falsity’ Framework Extended to Apply to Police Officers With Established History of Falsifying Evidence in Drug Cases, by Richard Resch
18. The Feds Are Monitoring Messaging Apps, and Some Are Shockingly Unsecure, by Anthony Accurso
19. Cops in Virginia Beach Used Fake DNA Reports During Interrogations, by Douglas Ankney
20. Tenth Circuit Vacates Special Conditions of Supervised Release Where District Court Failed to Make Appropriate Findings and Provide Adequate Explanation, by Douglas Ankney
21. Fourth Circuit: Good Cause Not Required to Withdraw Consent to Magistrate Judge’s Jurisdiction Prior to Other Parties Consenting, by Harold Hempstead
22. Kentucky Supreme Court: Traffic Stop Impermissibly Extended Where Officer Stopped Writing Citation to Aid Drug-Detection Dog’s Sniff of Vehicle’s Exterior, by Anthony Accurso
23. New Jersey Supreme Court: Youth May Be Considered as a Mitigating Factor but Not Aggravating Factor in Sentencing, by David Reutter
24. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Overruled Motion for New Trial May Be Amended With Court’s Leave Within 30-Day Period After Sentenced Imposed, by Matthew Clarke
25. Tenth Circuit Announces District Court Abused Discretion by Imposing Harsher Sentence Based on Defendant’s Decision to Plead Guilty Without Plea Agreement, by David Reutter
26. Expert Forensic Testimony Flawed by Implicit Racial Bias, by Casey Bastian
27. Oregon Becomes 38th State to Enact Wrongful Conviction Compensation Law, by Mark Wilson
28. Federal Officers Can Violate Civil Rights With Near Impunity - Supreme Court’s Refusal to Consider New Bivens Contexts Provides Protection to Those Who Abuse Their Authority, by Casey Bastian
29. Organization Created Platform to Log Police Misconduct in North Carolina, by Ashleigh Dye
30. A Union Scandal Landed Hundreds of NYPD Officers on a Secret Watchlist. That Hasn’t Stopped Some From Jeopardizing Cases., by Jake Pearson
31. Police Outsourcing Reduces Transparency, by Anthony Accurso
32. COVID-19 Measures Do Not Interfere with Jurors’ Ability to Distinguish Between Truth and Lies, by Casey Bastian
33. The Right to be Forgotten, by David Reutter
34. Oregon Bans Pre-Conviction Mugshot Public Disclosure, by Mark Wilson
35. Racially Disparate Sentencing Patterns Prevalent Amongst Federal Judges, by Casey Bastian
36. What Happened When Oakland Tried to Make Police Pay For Misconduct Decades Ago, by Akintunde Ahmad
37. Council of State Governments Initiates Efforts to Reduce Barriers to Employment for the Formerly Incarcerated, by Douglas Ankney
38. News in Brief

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, Feb. 15, 2025
• Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, Feb. 15, 2025
• Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum, Feb. 15, 2025
• Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts, Feb. 15, 2025
• California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhancements, Feb. 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Revives Claims Against Virginia Jailers by Detainee They Allegedly Manhandled While Handcuffed, Feb. 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim Against Guard in Stabbing, Feb. 15, 2025
• Minnesota Supreme Court Announces No Duty to Retreat When Using Reasonable Force in Defense of Another and Provides Framework for Analyzing Such Claims, Feb. 1, 2025
• NIJ Partners With Doctor to Develop Better Screening Method to Detect and Identify Drugs Postmortem, Jan. 15, 2025
• Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration, Jan. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners, Feb. 1, 2025. First Step Act, Resentencing, Credits.
• Fourth Circuit Announces ‘Sentencing Package Doctrine’ Permits District Court to Resentence Both Covered and Noncovered Offenses Under First Step Act, July 15, 2024. First Step Act, Resentencing, De Novo Resentencing.
• BOP Has a Halfway House Problem, June 1, 2024. First Step Act, Good Time Credits, Halfway House Placement, Community Corrections Facilities.
• New Data From BOP Reveals Technical Violations Account for Nearly a Third of First Step Act Recidivism, May 15, 2024. Crime, Statistics/Trends, First Step Act, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Revocation Proceedings.
• Time Served Under the First Step Act: Reduction, Not Revolution, April 15, 2024. Statistics/Trends, First Step Act.
• Federal Prisoners Released Under First Step Act Show 37% Reduction in Recidivism, April 1, 2024. Crime, Statistics/Trends, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, First Step Act.
• Preliminary Analysis of Recidivism Data After Three Years Under First Step Act Is Promising but Inconclusive, March 15, 2024. First Step Act.
• Federal Sentencing Guidelines Undergo Substantial Amendments, Jan. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Violence Against Women Act, Criminal History, Qualifying Offenses, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Sexual Abuse/Harrassment/Exploitation, Sexual Exploitation of Minors, Federally Protected Rights, Sexual Conduct with Minors, Sentences - Authorized, Safety Valve, Acceptance of Responsibility, Preservation of Judicial Resources, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of.
• Fourth Circuit: Disparate Sentence of 30 Years for Two § 924(c) Convictions Constitutes ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ for Early Release and § 3553(a) Sentencing Factors ‘Overwhelmingly’ Favor Sentence Reduction, Dec. 15, 2023. COVID-19, First Step Act, Compassionate Release.
• Fourth Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Where Record Unclear Whether District Court Considered All Nonfrivolous Arguments Raised by Defendant, Nov. 1, 2023. First Step Act, Policy Considerations, Reduction of Sentence.