More from this issue:

1. Government Snitches Rake in Millions as Their Testimony Is the Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions, by Jacob Barrett, Dale Chappell
2. California Court of Appeal Vacates Conviction Because Generic Immigration Consequences Warning Insufficient for Defendant to Understand Mandatory Immigration Consequences as a Result of Guilty Plea, by David Reutter
3. The FBI’s Gestapo Tactics: Hallmarks of an Authoritarian Regime, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
4. California Court of Appeal: Defendant’s ‘Novel Interpretation’ of Pen. Code § 1203.01 Entitles Him to Have Trial Court Consider Motion to Correct Post-Judgment Record 40 Years After Conviction Final, by Douglas Ankney
5. SCOTUS Announces Government Must Prove Physicians in § 841 Prosecutions ‘Knowingly and Intentionally’ Exceeded Their Authorization to Prescribe Controlled Substances, Such as Opioids, by Harold Hempstead
6. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Warrant to Search Cellphone Must Establish Nexus Between Device and Offense Beyond ‘Boilerplate’ Language About Cellphones Being Ubiquitous and Used in Crimes, by Anthony Accurso
7. Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Medical ‘Rule-Out Questions’ Prior to Field Sobriety Test Are Interrogation Triggering Miranda Requirements, by Anthony Accurso
8. New Jersey Supreme Court Orders New Trial Because Detective Failed to Clarify Suspect’s Ambiguous Request for Counsel During Interrogation, by Douglas Ankney
9. Third Circuit Announces First Step Act Applies Retroactively to Defendant Whose Pre-Act Sentence Vacated After Act’s Enactment, by Harold Hempstead
10. Fifth Circuit: New, Retroactive Supreme Court Decision Allowing SOS Habeas Petition Not New Enough to Avoid Procedural-Default Bar, by Dale Chappell
11. SCOTUS: § 1983 Claim Cannot Be Based on Violation of Miranda Because Not Tantamount to Violation of Fifth Amendment, by Harold Hempstead
12. Fifth Circuit: Officer’s Testimony About CI’s Controlled Buy That He Did Not Personally Witness Violates Confrontation Clause, by Mark Wilson
13. SCOTUS Refuses to Extend Bivens Remedy to Either First Amendment Retaliation Claim or Fourth Amendment Excessive-Force Claim, by Dale Chappell
14. Tech Giants Support Ban on Geofence and Reverse Keyword Warrants, by Anthony Accurso
15. Seventh Circuit: Federal Habeas Corpus – AEDPA Time Limit Opens Door for Savings Clause Relief, by Dale Chappell
16. Ohio Supreme Court: Amendment to Statute That Shifts Burden of Proof to State Regarding Self-Defense Applies to All Pending and New Trials After Effective Date, Regardless of When Alleged Crime Occurred, by Douglas Ankney
17. New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Judicial Misconduct May Bar Retrial Under Double Jeopardy Clause of State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
18. USSC Report Highlights Problems with Sentencing in Child Porn Cases, by Dale Chappell
19. California Court of Appeal Announces Term ‘Actual Killer’ in Revised Felony-Murder Statute Refers to Person Who ‘Personally Killed’ Victim, Not Necessarily Same as Person Who ‘Caused’ Death, for Resentencing Purposes Under § 1170.95, by Matthew Clarke
20. Forensic Psychiatrist Questions the Value of Memory, by Jayson Hawkins
21. The Blue Wall of Silence: Law Enforcement Whistleblowers Face Severe Retaliation, by Casey Bastian
22. Fourth Amendment Loopholes and the PATRIOT Act’s Legacy, by Anthony Accurso
23. FBI Phone Hack May Have Monitored Americans in Operation Trojan Shield, by Jayson Hawkins
24. Psychological Repercussions of Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
25. Chicago PD Is Spying on Social Media Using Fake Profiles Provided by the FBI, by Anthony Accurso
26. Study Shows Crime Reduced When Crisis Teams, as Opposed to Police, Respond to Low-Level Crimes, by Jacob Barrett
27. Understanding Environmental Effects on Blowflies Permits Fine-Tuning of Evidence Revealed From Fly Colonization of Decomposing Bodies, by Douglas Ankney
28. News in Brief

More from Mark Wilson:

• Indiana Prisoner Sues Prison Abolition Group, Wins $1,097 Default Judgment, April 26, 2024
• Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guard Accused of Grabbing and Squeezing Detainee’s Penis, Feb. 1, 2024
• Former Oregon Prison Nurse Gets 30 Years for Raping Prisoners, Dec. 1, 2023
• After Ninth Circuit Refuses to Compel Arbitration, National Class Certified in HRDC’s Challenge to Jail and Prison Debit Card Fees, Oct. 15, 2023
• Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Knee Surgery Delayed 29 Months, Oct. 15, 2023
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit, Finding Grievance Procedure Availability an Open Question, Oct. 15, 2023
• Congress Forces BOP to Upgrade Security Cameras, Sept. 15, 2023
• Oregon Will Hold Release Hearings for 73 Prisoners Sentenced to LWOP as Juveniles, Sept. 15, 2023
• Senators Slam “Egregious” Prisoner Sexual Abuse by BOP Employees, Sept. 15, 2023
• Minnesota Supreme Court Denies Qualified Immunity for Delayed Transfer of Sex Offenders, Sept. 15, 2023

More from these topics:

• SCOTUS Holds Sixth Amendment Requires Case-Specific Necessity Determination to Screen Child Witnesses, Rejecting Reliance on Mandatory State Statutes Based on Generalized Legislative Findings, Dec. 15, 2025. Sixth Amendment, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Video/Closed Circuit TV Testimony, Confrontation Clause.
• DOJ Settles With Orange County Over Use of “Jailhouse Snitches”, Dec. 1, 2025. Informants, Sixth Amendment, Confessions - Admissibility, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Pleas Linked to Cooperation.
• Maine Supreme Judicial Court Vacates Conviction Based on Confrontation Clause Where Toxicologist Testified About Toxicology Tests Performed by Others, Which SCOTUS Rejected in Smith v. Arizona, Oct. 15, 2025. Forensic Sciences, Testimonial Statements, Crime Lab Reports, Hearsay Evidence, Expert and Opinion Testimony.
• Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP, July 15, 2025. Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Informants, War on Drugs, Pardons/Clemency, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Trading Guns for Drugs.
• Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Convictions, 
Holding Multiple Errors by State Resulted in ‘Legal Chaos’ 
That Deprived Defendant of Right to Fair Trial 
Under ‘Cumulative-Error Doctrine’, May 15, 2025. Fifth Amendment, Prejudicial Spillover, Hearsay Evidence, Graphic and Inflammatory Evidence.
• Los Angeles County Pays $24 Million to Two Former Prisoners Wrongly Convicted as Teens of 1997 Murder, May 1, 2025. Informants, Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, False Exculpatory Statements.
• Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts, Feb. 15, 2025. Informants, Clothing, Sanitation, Summary Judgment, Deliberate Indifference.
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural, Feb. 15, 2025. COVID-19, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Practitioner Exception.
• Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty, Feb. 15, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Exculpatory No Doctrine, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Maryland Supreme Court Clarifies Process for Admitting Co-Conspirator’s Hearsay Statements During Police Interview Under ‘Declaration Against Penal Interest’ Exception, Trial Court Must ‘Parse’ Interview to Determine Admissibility of Each Statement, Feb. 1, 2025. Standard of Review, Police Interrogations, Evidence - Admissibility, Hearsay Evidence, Co-conspirator Statements.