More from this issue:

1. The Evolving Science, Skepticism, and Limited Evidentiary Value of Firearm and Toolmark Identification, by Douglas Ankney
2. Op-Ed: Fix the First Step Act and Let Reformed Prisoners Out From Behind Bars – Time Credits and the Irrebuttable Presumption Doctrine, by Christopher Cobb
3. Beyond Rehabilitation: Personal Achievement and Selfless Service as Grounds for Federal Compassionate Release, by James Lockhart, Luke Sommer
4. SCOTUS Announces Statute of Limitations for § 1983 Claim Challenging State’s Postconviction DNA Testing Procedures Begins to Run Upon Completion of State-Court Litigation, Including Appeals, by Richard Resch
5. Oregon Supreme Court: Right to Counsel Violated by Police Questioning Defendant About an Uncharged Crime in Connection With Charged Crime for Which Defendant Represented by Counsel, by Mark Wilson
6. Idaho Supreme Court: Confession Obtained in Violation of Miranda Inadmissible in State’s Case in Chief but May Be Used for Impeachment Purposes Where Defendant’s Will Was Not ‘Overborne’ During Interrogation, by Douglas Ankney
7. Ohio Supreme Court: Good-Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Inapplicable to Warrant Based on Affidavit Stating Cellphones Found at Scene of Traffic Crash ‘May’ Contain Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
8. Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Satisfy All Three Subsections of § 3553(f)(1) to Be Ineligible for Safety Valve, by Douglas Ankney
9. Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention, by Harold Hempstead
10. New York Court of Appeals Announces When an Alternate Juror Is ‘Discharged’ and no Longer ‘Available for Service’, by Douglas Ankney
11. Seventh Circuit: Fugitive Who Leased Condo Under Alias Retained Expectation of Privacy so Landlord Could Not Give Valid Consent for Warrantless Search of Premises, by Richard Resch
12. California Court of Appeal: Geofence Warrant Violates ‘Particularity’ Requirement of Fourth Amendment and Is ‘Overbroad’ but Good Faith Exception Applies Because of the Novelty of Geofence Warrants at Time Sought and Executed, by Richard Resch
13. Washington Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ‘Rule of Automatic Reversal’ When Prosecutor Flagrantly Appeals to Racial and Ethnic Bias During Voir Dire, by Mark Wilson
14. Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, by Dale Chappell
15. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Granting of New Trial in Murder Case Based on IAC Where Counsel Failed to Investigate Exculpatory Evidence Contained in a Proffer and Provided to Counsel Prior to Trial, by Matthew Clarke
16. A Lie Is Still a Lie, Even if the Speaker Genuinely Believes It, by Jordan Arizmendi
17. Tennessee Supreme Court Announces State Statute Automatically Sentencing Juvenile Offenders Convicted of First-Degree Murder to Life in Prison Is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
18. California Court of Appeal Announces ‘Plausible Justification’ as Standard for Claiming Entitlement to Discovery Under Racial Justice Act of 2020, by Mark Wilson
19. Ohio Supreme Court: IAC for Counsel to Mention ‘Neonaticide’ at Sentencing but Fail to Explain and Use It as Mitigating Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
20. by Eike Blohm, MD FATAL ENCOUNTERS WITH POLICE OCCUR in the U.S. with disturbing frequency, setting us apart from other Western industrial nations. A recent study published in the Annual Review of Criminology explores the drivers behind this American exce, by Jordan Arizmendi
21. Study Explores Factors Underlying High Rate of American Police Killings, by Eike Blohm, MD
22. Proactive Online Stings Do Little to Protect Children, by Eike Blohm, MD
23. California Court Rejects Geofence Warrant, by Anthony Accurso
24. 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:

• 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.
• Indiana Passes Law Prohibiting Police From Lying to Juveniles During Interrogation to Help Prevent False Confessions, May 17, 2023. Juveniles, False Statements/Perjury, Interrogation.
• California Court of Appeal: Fifth Amendment Violation Where Police Use Two-Step Interrogation in Deliberate Strategy to Circumvent Miranda, May 1, 2022. Fifth Amendment, Interrogation.
• Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Confession Must Be Corroborated by Independent Evidence Crime Occurred, Rejects Federal ‘Trustworthiness Standard’ for Corpus Delicti Rule, May 1, 2022. Impeachment Evidence/Purposes, Confessions and Statements of Defendant.
• North Carolina Supreme Court Announces Pretrial Notice of Duress Defense Does Not Forfeit Fifth Amendment Right to Silence, Reaffirms Rule Against Preemptive Impeachment, Dec. 15, 2021. Impeachment Evidence/Purposes, Right to Testify/Remain Silent.
• Interrogation Via Zoom: Policing in the Age of COVID, Oct. 15, 2020. COVID-19, Sentencing by Videoconferencing, Interrogation.
• California Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction and Death Sentence Because Police Failed To Honor Defendant’s Request for Counsel, Oct. 15, 2020. Wrongful Conviction, Edwards v. Arizona Rule, Invocation of Rights, Interrogation.