More from this issue:

1. The Pseudoscientific Practice of Blood Spatter Analysis How the Desire for Convictions Drives Flawed Prosecutions, by Anthony Accurso
2. Tennessee County Disproportionately Jails Black Children, and It’s Not Getting Better, by Jacob Barrett
3. Digital Tyranny: Beware of the Government’s Push for a Digital Currency, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
4. California Court of Appeal: Fifth Amendment Violation Where Police Use Two-Step Interrogation in Deliberate Strategy to Circumvent Miranda, by Richard Resch
5. Seventh Circuit: Four-Year Delay in Filing Appeal Excused Habeas Exhaustion Requirement Because Any Further Attempts for Postconviction Remedies in State Court Would Have Been Futile, by Dale Chappell
6. Ninth Circuit: IAC for Failure to Engage Mental Health Expert and Testing, State PCR Court’s Decision Contrary to Federal Law and Defective Factfinding, Habeas Relief Granted, by Dale Chappell
7. Hawaii Supreme Court: Due Process Violation to Exclude Evidence of Victim’s BAC in Assault Case in Which Defendant Claims Self-Defense, by Matthew Clarke
8. Sixth Circuit: Courts May Consider Nonretroactive Change in Law as One of Several Factors for Extraordinary and Compelling Circumstances for Compassionate Release, by Matthew Clarke
9. Maryland Court of Appeals Announces Accepting Empaneled Jury Doesn’t Waive Prior Objection to Trial Court’s Refusal to Propound a Voir Dire Question, by Douglas Ankney
10. United States Has Four Percent of the Global Population and Over Thirteen Percent of Global Deaths at the Hands of Law Enforcement, by Casey Bastian
11. I, Robot, Am The LAW!, by J.D. Schmidt
12. Thanks to Homeowner’s Private Security Camera Catching Cops’ Blatant Misconduct, He’s a Free Man, by Douglas Ankney
13. SCOTUS Rejects Government’s Interpretation of the ACCA’s ‘Occasions Clause’ That Would Make It Possible to Become ‘a Career Criminal in the Space of a Minute’, by Richard Resch
14. Kentucky Supreme Court: Officer’s History of Arresting Defendant on Multiple Occasions Constituted ‘Show of Authority’ That Defendant Was Not Free to Leave, Resulting in Unlawful Terry Stop, by Anthony Accurso
15. Connecticut Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Discretion by Limiting Self-Represented Defendant’s Direct Examination Regarding Risk of Injury to a Child, by Matthew Clarke
16. Fifth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief and New Trial Based on Counsel’s Failure to Interview State’s Key Eyewitness in Murder Case, by Dale Chappell
17. Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Confession Must Be Corroborated by Independent Evidence Crime Occurred, Rejects Federal ‘Trustworthiness Standard’ for Corpus Delicti Rule, by Douglas Ankney
18. Crushing Whistleblowers, by Jayson Hawkins
19. California Court of Appeal Orders New Trial Due to Jurors Considering Potential Penalty During Guilt Phase of Deliberations, by Douglas Ankney
20. Colorado Supreme Court Announces Parents’ Income That’s Unavailable to Defendant Who Lives With Them Expense-Free Not Included in Indigency Determination for Court-Appointed Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
21. FOIA Request Reveals How the FBI Obtains and Analyzes Cellular Provider Data, by Anthony Accurso
22. Vermont Supreme Court: Under Totality of Circumstances, Police Interview of Defendant in Store Parking Lot Was ‘Custodial Interrogation,’ Triggering Requirement for Miranda Warnings, by Anthony Accurso
23. Facbook Reminds Police, No Dummy Accounts for Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
24. Government Drones Compromise National Security, yet the NYPD Uses Them, by Ashleigh Dye
25. LASD Defends Practice of Stopping Latino Bicyclists, Says People Using Bikes for Transportation Are Generally Criminals, by Douglas Ankney
26. News in Brief
27. Discredited Narcotics Unit Revamped as Firearms Unit, by Douglas Ankney

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:

• 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. Miranda, Custodial Interrogations.
• California Court of Appeal: Defendant’s Conversation With Officers Not Consensual Based on Officers’ Positioning and Manner of Approaching Legally Parked Vehicle so Evidence Obtained Resulting From Conversation Must Be Suppressed, Aug. 15, 2024. Vehicle Searches, Consensual Encounters, Suppression, Miranda.
• Eleventh Circuit Reverses District Court’s Grant of Habeas Relief, Notes It’s ‘Murky on When Putting Two Suspects in a Room Together Qualifies as Interrogation Under Miranda’, July 15, 2024. AEDPA, Miranda, Custodial Interrogations, Minors, Use of, Interrogation.
• 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. Miranda, Custodial Interrogations, Interrogation, In Custody.
• First Circuit: Miranda Waiver Not Valid Where Interrogating Officer Answered ‘No’ to Defendant’s Question — ‘None of this can be used against me, can it?’, March 15, 2024. Miranda, Custodial Interrogations, In-home, Right To Remain Silent, Interrogation, Voluntary Nature/Voluntariness.
• The Diminishment of Miranda Is Leading to False Confessions and Conviction of Innocents, Feb. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, Wrongful Conviction, Confessions - Admissibility, Impeachment Evidence/Purposes, Miranda, Interrogation, In Custody, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Voluntary Nature/Voluntariness.
• Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Test to Determine When Person Becomes Agent of the State and Rules Jailhouse Snitch Was Agent, Requiring Suppression of Defendant’s Statements, Jan. 15, 2024. Informants, Post-Arrest Statements, Informants and Paid Witnesses, Confessions - Admissibility, Police Interrogations, Custodial Interrogations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant.
• SCOTUS: § 1983 Claim Cannot Be Based on Violation of Miranda Because Not Tantamount to Violation of Fifth Amendment, Sept. 15, 2022. Fifth Amendment, Miranda.
• New Jersey Supreme Court Orders New Trial Because Detective Failed to Clarify Suspect’s Ambiguous Request for Counsel During Interrogation, Sept. 15, 2022. New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Custodial Interrogations.
• New Jersey Supreme Court: Defendant Did Not Voluntarily Waive Privilege Against Self-Incrimination Because Police Persistently Contradicted and Undermined Significance of Miranda During Interrogation, Aug. 15, 2022. Police Misconduct, Custodial Interrogations/Statements, Miranda.