More from this issue:

1. Police Misconduct Reform: Forcing Police Officers to Have ‘Skin in the Game’ by Creating Financial Incentives with Insurance Premiums, by David Reutter
2. Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentencing Factors, by Douglas Ankney
3. Closed Circuit Cameras: Not the Objective Lenses We’re Told, by Benjamin Tschirhart
4. Database Containing 450,000 Records of NYPD Misconduct Now Available, by Douglas Ankney
5. Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Have Discretion to Consider Non-­Retroactive Changes in Post-­Sentencing Decisional Law in Assessing ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons’ for Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
6. New Tool Used by Police to Improve Interviewing Skills, by Jordan Arizmendi
7. New York Court of Appeals Suppresses Evidence Because Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion Necessary for Level 3 Stop and Frisk Under De Bour Framework, by Richard Resch
8. Kansas Supreme Court: Defendants May File a Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence in Appellate Court While on Direct Review, by Douglas Ankney
9. U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-­2022, by Casey Bastian
10. SCOTUS Announces Pending Investigation or Proceeding Is Not Required for an Offense to be ‘Related to Obstruction of Justice’ and Qualify as ‘Aggravated Felony’ in Removal of Noncitizen, by Douglas Ankney
11. We’re All Suspects in a DNA Lineup, Waiting to be Matched with a Crime, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
12. California Supreme Court Vacates Second Degree Murder Conviction Where Jury Instructed on Now Invalid Felony-­Murder Theory, by Douglas Ankney
13. U.S. Supreme Court Announces § 2255(e)’s ‘Saving Clause’ Does Not Enable Prisoners to File § 2241 Petition Based on AEDPA’s Rule Against Second or Successive § 2255 Motions, by Douglas Ankney
14. ‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants, by Jordan Arizmendi
15. Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun, by Douglas Ankney
16. California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Abused Discretion in Failing to Recall Terminally Ill Prisoner’s Sentence Following CDCR’s Recommendation for Compassionate Release, by Douglas Ankney
17. American Bar Association’s 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report, by Carlo Difundo
18. Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas Petition Where District Court Failed to Review Magistrate’s Report De Novo After Characterizing Petitioner’s Objections as ‘Attempt to Reargue Case’, by Douglas Ankney
19. D.C. Circuit Orders New Trial Due to Brady Violations Involving Source of Information, Not Withholding of Information Itself, by Richard Resch
20. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Granting Motion for New Trial Because ‘Verdict Is Contrary to Law and Evidence,’ Without Further Explanation, Bars Retrial, by Matthew Clarke
21. Third Circuit Vacates Possession of Cocaine Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence to Support Weight Element, by David Reutter
22. How the Backdoor Loophole Enables the FBI to Search Your Communications Without a Warrant, by Michael Thompson
23. Ninth Circuit Announces No Deference to Application Note 1 to Guideline § 4B1.2(b) Because It Impermissibly Expands Definition of ‘Controlled Substance Offense’, by Douglas Ankney
24. Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review, by Douglas Ankney
25. Digital Voiceprinting Is Not Ready for Court, by Anthony Accurso
26. Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Mansor Ruling for Search Warrants for Digital Data and Announces Framework for Suppression When Warrant Contains Both Constitutional and Unconstitutional Search Categories, by Anthony Accurso
27. News in Brief

More from Richard Resch:

• From the Editor, Dec. 15, 2024
• New York Court of Appeals Overturns Harvey Weinstein’s Convictions Based on Trial Court Rulings That Admitted Prejudicial ‘Prior Bad Acts’ Into Evidence and Violated His Right to Testify in His Own Defense, June 15, 2024
• SCOTUS: Reiterates Jury Verdict of Acquittal for Any Reason Bars Retrial Under Double Jeopardy Clause of Fifth Amendment, May 15, 2024
• Fourth Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Discovery and Evidentiary Hearing on § 2255 Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea Because It Was Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Made, March 15, 2024
• New York Court of Appeals Announces Traffic Stop of Bicyclist Is Seizure Under Both Fourth Amendment and State Constitution Requiring Reasonable Suspicion of Crime or Probable Cause of Traffic Violation, March 15, 2024
• First Circuit Announces It Has Authority to Raise Claim of Error Sua Sponte for Violation of ‘Mandate Rule’ by Sentenc-ing Court on Remand, Jan. 15, 2024
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Application of ‘Estoppel’ in Plea Bargain Context and Holds Trial Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Revoke Community Supervision After Statutory Term Expired, Dec. 15, 2023
• Seventh Circuit Announces Procedures for Addressing ‘Facially Questionable Warrant’ Due to ‘Material Handwritten Alterations’ Unsigned or Initialed by Issuing Judge, Dec. 15, 2023
• Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Self-Serving Hearsay’ Statements Introduced Under Rule of Completeness Not Hearsay and Do Not Render Defendant Impeachable, Nov. 1, 2023
• New York Court of Appeals Suppresses Evidence Because Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion Necessary for Level 3 Stop and Frisk Under De Bour Framework, Oct. 1, 2023

More from these topics:

• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants May Obtain Brady Evidence From Police Officers’ Personnel Files in Advance of § 1172.6 Hearing Requesting Vacatur of Conviction and Resentencing for Certain Types of Murder Convictions, Feb. 15, 2025. Disclosure of Records, Police, Brady Violations, Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Evidence - Admissibility.
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Prosecution’s Duty to Provide Discoverable Evidence Upon Request Applies to Discoverable Items in Law Enforcement Agencies’ Possession Unbeknownst to Prosecution and Exclusion Is Appropriate Remedy for Violation, Dec. 1, 2024. Brady Violations, Evidence - Admissibility.
• Louisiana Supreme Court Springs Prisoner From Death Row, April 1, 2024. Capital Punishment, Exculpatory Materials, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Withholding of Exculpatory 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.
• Hawaii Supreme Court: Due Process Violation to Exclude Evidence of Victim’s BAC in Assault Case in Which Defendant Claims Self-Defense, May 1, 2022. Assault Weapons, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
• First Circuit: Appellate Counsel’s Failure to Raise Brady Claim on Direct Appeal Constituted Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Under Strickland, § 2255 Motion Granted, March 15, 2022. Brady Violations, Strickland Standard.
• Fourth and Fifth Circuits Reopen Decades-Old Cases for Habeas Relief Due to Brady Violations, Nov. 15, 2020. Habeas Corpus, Brady Violations.
• Massachusetts Supreme Court: Brady Requires Disclosure of Exculpatory Material Revealed During Immunized Testimony Before Grand Jury, Nov. 15, 2020. Excessive Force (Police), Brady Violations, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
• Eighth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief Decades After Conviction Because Prosecutor Destroyed Evidence Prior to Trial, July 15, 2020. Habeas Corpus, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.