More from this issue:

1. A Guide to Getting the Most Out of a Plea Bargain, by Jacob Barrett
2. Second Circuit: District Court Required to Explain Rationale for Reducing Sentence to ‘Time Served’ Under First Step Act but Refused to Reduce Supervised Release Portion of Sentence Despite Being Longer Than New Mandatory Minimum, by Dale Chappell
3. What You Need to Know Before Contacting a Conviction Integrity Unit, by Kia Hall Hayes, Marissa Boyers Bluestine
4. Study Examines the ‘Black Box’ of Prosecutorial Charging and Plea Bargaining Discretion, by David Reutter
5. Man Rejects Plea Deal and Is Sentenced to 110 Years in Colorado Prison for Doing So, by Ashleigh Dye
6. Systematic Lying in Plea Bargaining Is a Feature, Not a Flaw, by David Reutter
7. Iowa Supreme Court Clarifies When Forensic Interviews of Child Complaining Witnesses Are Admissible, by Douglas Ankney
8. Sixth Circuit: Government Violated Plea Agreement by Arguing for Sentence Exceeding Guidelines Range, Despite Promise Not to ‘Suggest in Any Way’ Variance Is Appropriate, by David Reutter
9. Tenth Circuit: Where Defendant Actually Sentenced to Drug Treatment and Probation Rather Than 28-32 Months in Prison as Per State Sentencing Guidelines, Conviction Can’t Serve as Predicate ‘Felony’ for 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), by Dale Chappell
10. ACLU Report Suggests Disturbing Pattern of Police Surveilling Protests to Identify People Peacefully Protesting Police Brutality
11. Plea Bargaining: An Illegitimate System to Administer Justice?, by David Reutter
12. First Circuit: Appellate Counsel’s Failure to Raise Brady Claim on Direct Appeal Constituted Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Under Strickland, § 2255 Motion Granted, by Anthony Accurso
13. Ending Eyewitness Memory Contamination, by Matthew Clarke
14. Fourth Circuit: Bodily Injury Sentence Enhancement for Robbery Inapplicable Where Victim Sustained ‘Momentary’ Injury and Sought ‘Precautionary’ Medical Treatment, by Jacob Barrett
15. Iowa Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Where Prosecutor Allowed to Amend Trial Information at Trial to Charge a ‘Wholly New and Different Offense’, by David Reutter
16. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Trial Court Did Not Abuse Discretion by Granting Rule 508 Motion to Dismiss Capital Murder Charge Where State Refused to Disclose Identity of Confidential Informant, by Douglas Ankney
17. Vermont Supreme Court Announces Rule 12.1 Doesn’t Require Notice of Diminished Capacity Defense When Expert Testimony Won’t Be Used, by Matthew Clarke
18. California Court of Appeal: Hearing on Discretionary Resentencing Under §1170.91(b)(1) for U.S. Servicemembers Requires Only That Petition Allege Defendant ‘May’ Be Suffering From a ‘Qualifying Condition’, by Douglas Ankney
19. Fifth Circuit: Aggravated Assault in Texas Does Not Qualify as Aggravated Felony Under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2), Reentry With Prior Aggravated Felony, by Jacob Barrett
20. Massachusetts Supreme Court: Prosecution Failed to Prove Defendant Knowingly, Voluntarily, and Intelligently Waived Right to Counsel After Having Asked for Lawyer Earlier But Officer Continued to Engage in ‘General’ Talk for Nearly 45 Minutes, by Anthony Accurso
21. Third Circuit, Joining Every Other Circuit That’s Addressed the Issue, Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Does Not Qualify as ‘Crime of Violence’, by David Reutter
22. A ‘Lucky’ Exoneration in Syracuse, by Jayson Hawkins
23. Ninth Circuit Announces Irizarry Didn’t Eliminate Wise Requirement That Sentencing Court Provide Notice of Special Conditions of Supervised Release Prior to Imposing Sentence, by Matthew Clarke
24. Maryland Prosecutor Covers for FBI Agent’s Lies in Defense of Junk Science, by Jayson Hawkins
25. SCOTUS Rejects ‘Opening the Door’ Rule to Correct ‘Misleading Impression’ as Exception to Confrontation Clause Allowing Admission of Unconfronted Testimonial Hearsay, by Richard Resch
26. North Dakota Supreme Court Suppresses Evidence Found in Passenger’s Backpack Located Outside Vehicle When Drug-Detection Dog Alerted to Presence of Drugs Inside Vehicle, by Anthony Accurso
27. Fear and Freedom Twenty Years Later: How Post 9/11 Security Measures Overstepped Privacy, by Ashleigh Dye
28. FBI Program Surveils Subject for 24 Days Using Spy Planes, by Anthony Accurso
29. California Court of Appeal Announces Suffering From a Nonqualifying Mental Disorder While Also Suffering From a Qualifying Disorder Does Not Bar Eligibility for Mental Health Diversion Under § 1001.36, by Anthony Accurso
30. Google Confirms Increasing Police Reliance on Geofence Warrants, by Anthony Accurso
31. Pandemic Pressures Defendants into False Guilty Pleas, by David Reutter
32. Search Your Constitution in Vain for the Fourth Amendment—the DOJ Seized It (Stealthily), by Douglas Ankney
33. NYPD Using Secret Money for Surveillance Tech, by Anthony Accurso
34. Dangers of Data Gathering by Los Angeles Police Department, by Edward Lyon
35. Geofencing Warrants Are Putting Civil Rights and Free Speech in Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
36. Oregon Bans Police Lying to Obtain Confessions from Juveniles, by Jacob Barrett
37. ‘Possible Cause’ Is All That’s Needed for Geofence Warrants, by Douglas Ankney
38. News in Brief
39. Police Disparage Philadelphia Citizenry with False Report That SEPTA Riders Stood Idle While Passenger was Raped, by Douglas Ankney

More from Anthony Accurso:

• Oregon Supreme Court Rules Police Questioning of Probationer in Probation Officer’s Secure Office Absent Miranda Warning Constitute ‘Compelling Circumstances’ and Suppresses Statements, June 15, 2024
• Stinging Back: Resisting Government Surveillance of Cellphones, May 15, 2024
• Tech Monopolies Prevent Effective Privacy Laws in the U.S., May 15, 2024
• Police Body Cameras, A Decade Later, May 15, 2024
• Use of Solitary Confinement on the Rise in ICE Facilities, May 15, 2024
• California Court of Appeal: Traffic Stop Prolonged for Drug Dog Sniff Search Unrelated to ‘Mission’ of Stop Violates Fourth Amendment, April 15, 2024
• Pharmacies Are Giving Your Prescription Data to Police Without a Warrant, April 15, 2024
• California Attorney General Issues Memo Prohibiting Out-of-State Sharing of ALPR Data, April 15, 2024
• Utah Supreme Court Announces Communication of Cellphone Passcode Protected by Fifth Amendment and Rules Advising Jury of Defendant’s Refusal to Disclose Passcode Violates Privilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination, April 15, 2024
• The FBI’s Rapidly Expanding DNA Database, April 15, 2024

More from these topics:

• Maine Supreme Court: Defense Counsel Ineffective for Opening Door to Otherwise Inadmissible Evidence of Bad Character, April 15, 2024. Parental rights, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Failure to Preserve Challenge, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise, Battered Child/Spouse Evidence, Character/Reputation/Propensity, Bad Acts Evidence.
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Failure to Disclosure Mental Health Report Showing Key Witness Was a Sociopath Constitutes Brady Violation That Prejudiced Defendant, March 15, 2024. Brady Violations, Brady Rule violations, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
• Michigan Reaches $1.03 Million Settlement with Exonerated Prisoner, March 1, 2024. Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Brady Violations, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
• Third Circuit: Defense Counsel Ineffective Under Strickland Where Counsel Sat Silent After Judge Threatened to Charge Witness With Perjury Unless Testimony Changed, Feb. 15, 2024. AEDPA, False Statements/Perjury, Strickland Standard, Strickland v. Washington, Failure to Object/Late Objections.
• Study Finds Public Defenders’ Heavy Workloads Prevent Effective Representation, Amendments to 50-Year-Old Guidelines Recommended, Feb. 15, 2024. Public Defenders, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness.
• Fifth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief Granted to Capital Defendant Where Counsel Failed to Impeach State’s Pivotal Wit-ness with Available Forensic Evidence, Jan. 15, 2024. AEDPA, Effective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Identification Documents/Evidence, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise, Trial Strategy, Strickland v. Washington.
• U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence, Jan. 15, 2024. AEDPA, Procedural Default/Error, Proving Cause, Capital Cases, Procedural Error, Effective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Right to, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness, Right to Counsel.
• Massachusetts Supreme Court: Defense Counsel’s Overt Bias Against Own Client Constitutes Actual Conflict of Interest Requiring New Trial Without Need to Prove Prejudice, Dec. 15, 2023. Counsel - Constructive denial of, Strickland Standard, Conflict of Interest, Disqualification of Counsel.
• D.C. Circuit Orders New Trial Due to Brady Violations Involving Source of Information, Not Withholding of Information Itself, Oct. 1, 2023. Brady Violations, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
• "Kentucky Supreme Court: Hearing on Defense Counsel’s Fitness Is Critical Stage at Which Defendant Has Right to Be Present With Conflict-Free Counsel", March 15, 2021. Strickland Standard, Conflict of Interest.