Analysis

How States Are Rethinking Life Without Parole For Youth

By Marco Poggio

A wave of recent state high court rulings, including a landmark decision in Michigan in April, has curtailed the use of mandatory life without parole for defendants under 21, citing evolving standards of decency and brain science. Hundreds of incarcerated individuals in Michigan are now eligible for resentencing, but the reforms face resistance from prosecutors, victims’ rights advocates, and dissenting justices who warn of consequences for public safety and judicial overreach.

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Justices Allow Texas Death Row Inmate's DNA Suit

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said a Texas death row inmate can sue state officials in federal court to try to obtain post-conviction DNA testing, a decision that could open the door to broader challenges to how Texas provides access to forensic evidence after conviction.

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In-House Pro Bono Work Dipped In 2024, Report Says

By Rose Krebs

The pro bono participation rate for U.S. attorneys in the Pro Bono Institute's annual Corporate Pro Bono Challenge dipped to 46% in 2024, with participation among legal staff decreasing to 31%, well below the institute's 50% "aspirational goal."

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Analysis

After Dobbs, States Become Battleground For Abortion Rights

By Marco Poggio

Three years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, it did more than end nearly five decades of federal constitutional protection for abortion; it also fractured the legal landscape of reproductive rights, shifting the authority to regulate the procedure to individual states, and leading to legal uncertainty for courts, physicians and patients.

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Analysis

Pregnancy Loss Draws Police Scrutiny Following Dobbs

By Dan McKay

The nation's abortion debate has played out in civil courtrooms and state capitols across the country since the overturning of Roe v. Wade three years ago. But the battle is also emerging in another arena: the criminal courts.

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Justices Expand Reach Of First Step Act In Resentencings

By Phillip Bantz

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that defendants can benefit from lighter sentences under the First Step Act if they were sentenced prior to the 2018 criminal justice reform law but later resentenced after their original sentences were tossed.

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Top Court Limits Sentencing Factors For Release Violations

By Stewart Bishop

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday limited what factors district judges may consider when sentencing defendants for violating the terms of supervised release, vacating the Sixth Circuit's findings that allowed lower courts to undertake the same analysis for revocation proceedings as primary sentencings.

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Justices Say 'Exhaustion' In Prisoner Suits Is A Jury Question

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court narrowly ruled on Wednesday that prisoners have a right to a jury trial when there's a factual dispute over whether they properly exhausted prison grievance procedures — a key requirement before suing over prison conditions under federal law.

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Justices To Review Liability For Forcing Prisoner's Haircut

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a former Louisiana prisoner's case for damages after guards forcibly shaved his head, removing the dreadlocks he maintained as part of his Rastafarian religion.

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DC Circuit Tosses Guantanamo Detainee's Repatriation Bid

By Madeline Lyskawa

The D.C. Circuit said a Pakistani national detained at Guantánamo Bay for nearly 20 years has failed to show that the appeals court can review a district court's denial of his attempt to force the government to determine if he's eligible for repatriation.

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Convict's Outbursts Didn't Warrant DQ, Conn. Justices Rule

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut trial court judge acted within his power to consider and then add three criminal contempt sentences to a murder convict's prison term after the defendant hurled a series of racial and profane attacks at the court when a habeas corpus hearing concluded, the state's highest court ruled Monday.

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Pa. Court Rules Philly Open-Carry Restriction Unconstitutional

By Elizabeth Daley

The Pennsylvania Superior Court struck down Philadelphia's restrictions on the open carry of firearms as unconstitutional, finding citizens in the state's largest city should not be subject to more stringent gun laws than those in other parts of the state.

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Texas AG Seeks Execution In Shaken Baby Syndrome Case

By Catherine Marfin

The Texas attorney general's office has asked a state court to set an execution date for a man convicted based on a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, despite his case pending on appeal before the state's highest criminal court.

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Council on Criminal Justice, Rand Partner On AI Task Force

By Matt Perez

The Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, announced Monday that it had struck a new partnership with the Rand Corp. to launch a national task force working to develop standards and recommendations for the integration and oversight of artificial intelligence in the criminal justice system.

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Perspectives

States Can't Ignore Biden Admin Police Misconduct Findings

While the federal government retreats from Biden-era Department of Justice findings of police misconduct, those same findings may have triggered significant legal obligations for state and local prosecutors under the Brady rule, says Matthew Segal at the ACLU.

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Perspectives

Justices' Sentencing Ruling Is More Of A Ripple Than A Wave

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Esteras v. U.S., limiting the factors that lower courts may consider in imposing prison sentences for supervised release violations, is symbolically important, but its real-world impact will likely be muted for several reasons, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

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Perspectives

License Plate Readers Need Guardrails, Not Bans

Relying on recent decisions that license plate recognition technology doesn't violate Fourth Amendment privacy rights, legislators should disregard alarmist calls for bans to outlaw the technology and instead focus on implementing responsible guidelines for using this valuable crime-solving tool, says Tim Lee at the Center for Individual Freedom.

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