More from this issue:

1. Cold Case Killer Kelly Siegler Is a True-Crime Celebrity. Did She Frame an Innocent Man for Murder?, by Jordan Smith, Liliana Segura
2. Breakthrough in Burn Victim Identification: Ancient DNA Tech Offers New Hope, by Jo Ellen Nott
3. Tenth Circuit Announces Assault Conviction Under 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(6) Not a Qualifying Predicate ‘Crime of Violence’ for Purposes of USSG § 2K2.1(a)(3), by Douglas Ankney
4. New York Court of Appeals Announces ‘Due Diligence’ Is Applicable Standard for Certificate of Compliance Regarding Discovery Obligations and Trial Readiness, Improper Certificate Is ‘Illusory” and Fails to Toll Speedy Trial Clock, by Matthew Clarke
5. Ohio Supreme Court Announces Same Postconviction-Relief Filing Deadline Applies to ‘Delayed Appeal’ as Applies to Any Other Type of Direct Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
6. Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, by Dale Chappell
7. New NIJ-Funded Website Assists Forensic Practitioners Estimate Age of Unidentified Skeletal Remains of Infants and Teens Based on Dental Data, by Douglas Ankney
8. $3.76 Million Awarded to Denver Grandmother for SWAT Raid of Home Based on Inaccurate iPhone Ping, by Jo Ellen Nott
9. Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Good-Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Under State Constitution Does Not Apply to Search and Arrest Based on Quashed Warrant That Appears Active Due to Clerical Error by Court Administration, by Douglas Ankney
10. California Court of Appeal Announces Rulings on Three Issues of First Impression Involving Certificate of Appealability and Habeas Petition, by Douglas Ankney
11. Tennessee Supreme Court Announces Prospective Abrogation of Common Law Accomplice-Corroboration Rule, by Douglas Ankney
12. Surveillance Tech Companies Compose Self-Promoting Press Releases for Cops That Media Lazily Regurgitates, by Matthew Clarke
13. South Carolina Supreme Court: Confession Involuntary Where Police Provide Miranda Warnings Then Tell Defendant Statements Are Confidential, by Sam Rutherford
14. Ninth Circuit Announces That Asking About Parole Status During Traffic Stop Does Not Violate Fourth Amendment, by Sam Rutherford
15. UN Human Rights Committee Report: ICE Electronic Data Surveillance Practices Violate Human Rights Law, by Matthew Clarke
16. Fourth Circuit Announces ‘Sentencing Package Doctrine’ Permits District Court to Resentence Both Covered and Noncovered Offenses Under First Step Act, by Sam Rutherford
17. ‘Asian Nazis’ Be Damned: Cops Coveting AI for 2024, by Michael Thompson
18. Prosecutors Receive Absurdly Lenient Sentence of Probation for Brady Violation That Resulted in an Innocent Man Spending More Than Four Years in Prison, by Douglas Ankney
19. Federal Government Proposes Reclassifying Marijuana as Less Dangerous Schedule III Drug in Historic Policy Shift, by Jo Ellen Nott
20. The 153 Exonerations in 2023 Include 19 Resulting From Threats or Sentences of Death, by Casey Bastian
21. SCOTUS Announces Federal Sentence Under ACCA Based on Federal Classification of Drug at Time of State Court Proceeding, by Sam Rutherford
22. California Court of Appeal Explains Qualification for Mental Health Diversion Under Pen. Code § 1001.36, Rules Defendant Qualified for Pretrial Mental Health Diversion, by David Reutter
23. Rethink Googling That Video of Big Bird Teaching Your Child the Letter ‘B’—You Might Be Caught in a Federal Dragnet, by Douglas Ankney
24. DOJ Is Charging Founders of Samourai Wallet for Allegedly Laundering Bitcoin, by Michael Thompson
25. What’s in a Name: ShotSpotter Becomes SoundThinking, But Problems Remain, by Michael Thompson
26. Foundations of Firearms Audio Forensics Built by Dr. Robert Maher Will Continue to Be Important Forensic Tool as More Recording Devices Are Present at Crime Scenes, by Jo Ellen Nott
27. Colorado Supreme Court Announces First Degree Criminal Trespass of Dwelling Is Lesser-Included Offense of Second Degree Burglary, Explicitly Overruling Garcia, and Merger Is Remedy for Double Jeopardy Sentencing Error, by Sam Rutherford
28. 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’, by Douglas Ankney
29. Minnesota Becomes Third State to Restrict ‘Excited Delirium’, by Jordan Arizmendi
30. Sixth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Batson Claims, by Sam Rutherford
31. News in Brief

More from Sam Rutherford:

• Ninth and Tenth Circuits Find Bivens Extension Orders Not Immediately Appealable, March 1, 2025
• New Mexico Corrections Department Continues Pattern of Abuse With Contract Medical Provider Wexford Health Sources, Feb. 15, 2025
• Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments, Feb. 15, 2025
• 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
• Fourth Circuit Decision on Claim of Retaliation for Exercising First And Sixth Amendment Rights Highlights Police Corruption, Feb. 15, 2025
• Washington DOC Physician Assistant Surrenders Medical License in Wake of Malpractice Allegations, Feb. 15, 2025
• 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
• Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025
• California Court of Appeal Announces Equal Protection Entitles Youth Offenders Convicted of Special Circumstances Murder Predicated on Robbery or Burglary to Franklin and Parole Hearings Under Cal. Penal Code § 3051, Feb. 15, 2025
• Law Enforcement Obscures Use of Facial Recognition Technology, Feb. 15, 2025

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.
• Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025. Jury Instructions, Resentencing, Threats, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
• First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners, Feb. 1, 2025. First Step Act, Resentencing, Credits.
• California Court of Appeal Announces Youthful Defendants Sentenced to Terms ‘Functionally Equivalent’ to LWOP Entitled to Resentencing Under § 1170(d), Feb. 1, 2025. Life without Parole (LWOP), Resentencing, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
• Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Revocation Proceedings, Overreaching.
• Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row, Jan. 15, 2025. Alternative Sentencing, Death Penalty/Death Row, Resentencing.
• Illinois Supreme Court Announces Dismissal by Nolle Prosequi as Part of Agreement Bars State From Bringing Second Prosecution Where Defendant Satisfied Obligations and Reverses Empire Actor Jussie Smollett’s Conviction, Dec. 15, 2024. Double jeopardy, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements, Dismissal, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
• Ninth Circuit Reverses Federal Prisoner’s Conviction for Assaulting Guards at California Prison, Dec. 15, 2024. Excessive Force, Failure to Protect (Staff), Resentencing.
• California Supreme Court Announces Uncharged and Unproven Offense-Specific Enhancements May Not Be Imposed Under § 1172.6(e) Resentencing, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• Mississippi Supreme Court: Defendant’s Guilty Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Because He Was Not Informed of His Habitual Offender Status, Dec. 1, 2024. Resentencing, De Facto Career Offender, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.