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 Luke Sommer, James Lockhart
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. Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention, by Harold Hempstead
9. Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Satisfy All Three Subsections of § 3553(f)(1) to Be Ineligible for Safety Valve, by Douglas Ankney
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:

• The Trial Penalty: How America Abandoned the Right to Trial, Nov. 15, 2025
• Third Circuit Upholds Award of $265,000 to Prisoner 
Who Was Sexually Assaulted Twice by the Same Guard, Aug. 1, 2025
• Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA, Aug. 1, 2025
• $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner 
Whose Baby Was Stillborn, July 15, 2025
• New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing 
for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, July 15, 2025
• New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, July 15, 2025
• Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference 
Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim 
for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, July 15, 2025
• Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance 
in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, July 15, 2025
• Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose 
Records of Private Contractors, July 15, 2025
• Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission 
Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• Indiana Supreme Court Announces Whether Defendant’s Actions Were “Objectively Reasonable” Justifying Self-Defense Can Be Considered in Hindsight, Sept. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Criminal Procedure, Appealable Issues/Orders.
• U.S. Sentencing Commission Adopts 2025 Amendments 
to Resolve Circuit Conflicts, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Criminal History, Arrest/Arraignment, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• Summary of the 2025 Drug Offenses Amendment 
by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Methamphetamine, Drug Mule, Machine Guns, Safety Valve.
• Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission 
Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Compassionate Release.
• Fourth Circuit: A Finding of Offering Money to Minor 
for Videos Depicting Specific Conduct Without Establishing 
Order of Events Insufficient to Establish Offer ‘Caused’ 
Minor to Produce Explicit Material Within Meaning 
of Guidelines § 2G2.2(c)(1) Cros, July 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Applicable Guidelines Issues.
• First Circuit Announces What Constitutes ‘Otherwise Using’ 
a Dangerous Weapon for Purposes of the Four-Level 
Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2B3.1(a), May 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Probation, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• ACLU Sues BOP Over Failure to Implement First Step Act Release Credits, May 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
• Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, April 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Bank Fraud/Robbery/Theft, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Eligibility for Parole.
• Virginia Parole Board Skirts New Transparency Rules, Governor Walks Back Expanded Sentence Credits—Again, March 1, 2025. Local Rules, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Credits.
• Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff, Feb. 15, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Offense of Conviction.