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AllJuvenile CrimesWhite Collar CrimeTheft & FraudDrug OffensesAssaultPlea BargainsExpungementFederal CrimesDUI/DWIDomestic Violence
How a Child Gets Moved From Adult Court Back to Juvenile Court
Juvenile Crimes8h ago

How a Child Gets Moved From Adult Court Back to Juvenile Court

When a child's case starts in adult court, a reverse waiver motion may send it back to juvenile court. Wisconsin's Supreme Court is now weighing whether judges must consider a child's age.

White Collar Crime1d ago

How Long a Federal Fraud Appeal Takes, Step by Step

A federal fraud appeal is mostly waiting, punctuated by a few deadlines that end your case if you miss them. Here is the sequence, from the 14 day notice of appeal to the Supreme Court's 90 day window, with the federal median attached to each stage.

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White Collar Crime2d ago

What a Presidential Pardon Does Not Erase in a Fraud Case

A pardon ends the criminal case, not the fight over money. A Sept 9, 2026 ruling in the Nikola founder's case shows what clemency removes and what it leaves in place: investor suits, arbitration awards, the conviction record and state exposure.

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Theft & Fraud3d ago

Should You Pay the Letter a Store Sent After a Shoplifting Stop?

A letter demanding a few hundred dollars after a shoplifting stop is not a fine or a court order. Learn what paying does and does not do, what ignoring it risks, and when to call a lawyer first.

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Drug Offenses4d ago

Did a License Plate Camera Put You in This Case?

A camera "hit" buried in a police report can be the reason a stop happened at all. Here is what license plate reader evidence actually proves, how often the systems are wrong, and the exact records to demand before the data ages out.

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Assault5d ago

Who Can Be Denied Bail in Texas Now?

Texas voters added Section 11d to the state constitution in November 2025, letting judges deny pretrial bail in nine specific felony cases. The charge alone does not decide it. A prosecutor has to ask, and then has to prove one of two theories at a hearing where you have a right to a lawyer.

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Theft & Fraud6d ago

The Dollar Line Between Misdemeanor and Felony Theft, State by State

The same item taken from the same shelf is a misdemeanor in one state and a felony across the state line. Here are the verified dollar thresholds in seven states, plus the three mechanisms that move a case over the felony line no matter what the receipt says.

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Plea BargainsSep 6

What Happens When Your Jury Cannot Agree?

A deadlocked jury ends your trial without ending your case. Here is how a judge gets to a mistrial, why a second trial is allowed, who decides whether it happens, and what the weeks before your status hearing are worth.

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Drug OffensesSep 5

Can Police Keep Your Car After a Drug Arrest?

A seized vehicle runs on two clocks: evidence and forfeiture. Here is what the Eighth Amendment actually protects, why the Supreme Court hears an excessive-fines case on December 1, and the federal deadlines that decide most cases before a judge ever sees them.

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White Collar CrimeSep 4

When a Judge Sentences Above the Guideline Range

A federal judge in San Francisco just sent a former Google engineer to prison after a guideline range that allowed no prison at all. Here is how above-range sentences work, what notice you get before one, and what preserves your appeal.

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ExpungementSep 3

Does an Expunged Case Still Show Up on a Background Check?

Expungement almost never means deletion. Courts, prosecutors, and police usually keep access, a sealed conviction can still enhance a later sentence, and private screening companies sometimes keep reporting a case the court already closed. Here is what relief does, who keeps seeing it, and the exact steps to force a stale report to change.

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AssaultSep 2

A Colorado Judge Threw Out a Felony Case Without Finding the DNA Analyst Ever Touched It. The State Supreme Court Wants Him to Explain Why.

On August 2, 2026, a Weld County judge dismissed a felony child sexual assault case over the CBI DNA scandal, even though prosecutors say analyst Yvonne "Missy" Woods altered nothing in that specific case. The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered him to explain by September 16, and the answer could change what more than 1,000 Colorado defendants are able to ask for.

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Federal CrimesAug 31

The Supreme Court Said a Geofence Warrant Is a Search. It Did Not Say the Evidence Comes Out.

Chatrie v. United States settled that police search you when they pull your Google Location History. It left warrant validity and the good-faith exception wide open, and no federal appellate court has yet ordered geofence evidence suppressed.

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Federal CrimesAug 30

A Texas Judge Struck Down NFA Registration for Suppressors and Short-Barreled Rifles. Here Is What the Injunction Actually Covers.

Judge James Wesley Hendrix enjoined core NFA registration provisions on August 5, 2026, and the injunction became operative August 13 after a seven-day stay expired. The relief is party-specific, not nationwide, and § 5861(j) and the entire Gun Control Act remain fully chargeable against everyone.

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Federal CrimesAug 29

A Judge Denied Him Acceptance of Responsibility for Filing a Suppression Motion. The Ninth Circuit Just Vacated That Sentence.

In United States v. Aguilera, the Ninth Circuit held that a district court misapprehended the law when it denied a two-level acceptance-of-responsibility reduction because the defendant filed a suppression motion and preserved his appeal. The conviction stands, but the 45-month sentence is vacated, and the arithmetic behind the remand is worth understanding.

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DUI/DWIAug 28

The Arrest Report in Your DUI Case May Have Been Written by Software. California Now Makes Them Say So.

California's SB 524 took effect January 1, 2026, and it forces police reports to disclose when artificial intelligence drafted them, preserve the first AI draft, and log who ran the tool. In DUI cases, where the officer's narrative of odor, slurred speech, and field sobriety performance often is the case, that retained draft is new impeachment material. Utah requires disclosure and certification but no draft retention. Roughly 48 states require nothing at all.

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Drug OffensesAug 27

Meg's Law Makes Nitrous Oxide a Felony for Florida Smoke Shops on October 1, and Xylazine Trafficking Starts at 28 Grams

Florida's CS/SB 432 takes effect October 1, 2026. It does not make whippits a felony for consumers, and nitrous oxide was never unregulated: more than 16 grams has been a third-degree felony since 2001. What changed is narrower and harsher, and the same act opens two separate xylazine exposures that most coverage has merged into one.

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Plea BargainsAug 26

Oregon Dismissed 2,165 Cases Because Nobody Gave You a Lawyer. Then It Refiled 451 of Them.

Under State v. Roberts, Oregon must dismiss charges when an eligible defendant goes 60 days (misdemeanor) or 90 days (felony) after arraignment without appointed counsel. But the dismissal is without prejudice, and 451 of 2,165 dismissed cases have already come back. Here is what that actually means for someone waiting on a public defender.

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ExpungementAug 25

Virginia's Automatic Sealing Deadline Is October 1. Marijuana Records Already Went First.

Virginia's Clean Slate law has been live since July 1, 2026. October 1 is the deadline for State Police to hand courts the first batch of 112,231 sealable conviction offenses, not the day sealing starts. And old marijuana possession records never needed the batch at all.

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Federal CrimesAug 24

Nine Justices Threw Out a Gun Charge Against a Marijuana User and Left the Statute Standing: What Hemani Actually Gives You

In United States v. Hemani, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed dismissal of a §922(g)(3) indictment against a man who admitted using marijuana every other day, exposure the government pegged at up to 15 years plus lifetime disarmament. But the judgment was 9-0 while the opinion was 7-2, the ruling was as-applied rather than facial, and the Court expressly refused to decide five separate prosecution theories. The statute is still law. Here is what the decision gives a defendant, and what it does not.

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DUI/DWIAug 23

A Jacksonville Panel Threw Out a Breath Test Over Five Rubber Rings. The Window to Use That Argument Is Closing.

A three judge Duval County panel suppressed an Intoxilyzer 8000 result this month because FDLE and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office replaced O-rings inside the machine without being an authorized repair facility. The order is not the first ruling of its kind, and it is not the blank slate the coverage suggests. It follows binding appellate precedent from 2025, and it lands weeks after FDLE amended the very rule the argument depends on.

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DUI/DWIAug 22

An Illinois Lab's Cannabis DUI Tests Couldn't Separate Delta-8 From Delta-9. Roughly 2,000 Cases Are Now in Question.

For eight years, Illinois courts treated delta-9 THC numbers from a University of Illinois Chicago lab as fact. On March 11, 2026, the state's forensic oversight commission rejected the university's own defense of those numbers as 'insufficient.' Here is how to find out whether your case is in the pool, and what remedy fits.

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Plea BargainsAug 21

Two Circuits Have Now Used the Supreme Court's New Appeal-Waiver Escape Hatch. Both Dismissed the Appeal Anyway.

In Hunter v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a federal appeal waiver cannot be enforced when doing so would produce a miscarriage of justice. Two federal appeals courts have now applied that rule. Both dismissed the appeal in front of them. The Second Circuit's decision in United States v. Matos widened the doctrine and narrowed the practice in the same opinion.

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AssaultAug 20

Alabama Can Seek the Death Penalty for Crimes That Killed No One Starting October 1, and the Sponsor Says That Is the Point

Alabama's Child Predator Death Penalty Act takes effect October 1, 2026, making first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, and sexual torture capital offenses when the victim is under 12. The Supreme Court held in Kennedy v. Louisiana that the Eighth Amendment forbids exactly this. The bill's sponsor agrees, and says forcing the Court to reconsider is the whole strategy. Here is what actually changes for anyone charged.

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AssaultAug 19

Pennsylvania's Deadline to Fix Life Without Parole Expired on July 24, and 1,100 Sentences Are Now in Limbo

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down mandatory life without parole for second-degree murder in March, then gave lawmakers 120 days to write a replacement. The deadline came and went with no law. Roughly 1,100 people now hold a constitutional right that only one of them can currently enforce.

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DUI/DWIAug 18

California's DUI Overhaul Has Two Weeks Left, and Most of It Is Already Dead

The Legislature must pass every bill by Aug. 31, and the Governor has until Sept. 30 to sign. But the headline bill in California's 2026 impaired-driving package, a first-offense ignition interlock mandate, is stalled on the suspense file and would not operate until 2031 even if it passes. Here is what actually survived, what died in the spring, and what a Jan. 1, 2027 effective date would really mean for a pending case.

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White Collar CrimeAug 17

Your $100,000 Fraud Loss Is Worth Two Fewer Levels on November 1: The Guidelines Just Rewrote the Money Tables and the Grouping Rules

The U.S. Sentencing Commission unanimously promulgated seven amendments on April 16, 2026. Two of them cut white collar exposure: every dollar threshold in the Manual rises for the first time since 2015, and the multiple-count grouping rules collapse into a single guideline that takes the highest offense level instead of adding across guidelines. A $100,000 loss scores +8 through October 31 and +6 on November 1. Here is what changes, who it reaches, and why the date of your sentencing hearing now matters more than almost anything else in the file.

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Plea BargainsAug 16

Waive Your Jury in Louisiana and the DA Can Take Your Judge: HB 310 Took Effect August 1

Louisiana Act 541 took effect August 1, 2026. In districts with three or more criminal judges, filing to waive a jury now triggers automatic random reassignment of your case, and only the district attorney can stop it. A buried paragraph also restarts the speedy trial clock.

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DUI/DWIAug 15

Oklahoma Can Now Turn Two Unproven DUIs Into One Felony: SB 1543 Drops the Conviction Requirement on November 1

Starting November 1, 2026, Oklahoma prosecutors can aggregate two DUI violations committed within one year and charge them as a single Class C2 felony, with no prior conviction required. Here is what the statute says, what it leaves undefined, and why severance under 22 O.S. § 439 becomes the central defense tool.

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DUI/DWIAug 14

Louisiana's New Twelve-Year DWI Minimum Took Effect August 1. It Reaches Far Fewer Drivers Than the Headlines Suggest.

Act 117 added a twelve-year mandatory minimum to Louisiana's DWI statute effective August 1, 2026. It fires only when the driver already has a vehicular homicide, third degree feticide, or first degree vehicular negligent injuring conviction. The baseline penalties for a second, third, or fourth DWI did not change. Here is what actually moved, and why a decades-old conviction can still trigger the new floor.

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Drug OffensesAug 13

South Carolina Just Sent a Man to Prison for 30 Years for Selling the Drug, Not Taking It: The First Conviction Under the Fentanyl-Induced Homicide Act

Bradford Wayne Jovanelly pleaded guilty in Lexington County and drew the 30-year maximum, the first conviction under South Carolina's Fentanyl-Induced Homicide Act. Here is what the state actually has to prove, why the decedent's own drug use is off the table as a defense, and why the widely repeated "didn't know it was fentanyl" exemption is not in the enacted law.

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Federal CrimesAug 12

Federal Judges No Longer Have to Put You on Supervised Release: The November 1 Rewrite That Ended Automatic Post-Prison Supervision

For nearly forty years the federal guidelines told judges to impose supervised release on almost every prison sentence over a year. Amendment 835 deleted that instruction effective November 1, 2025. Statutes actually required supervision in only 22 percent of the cases where courts imposed it, which means roughly four out of five federal supervision terms now sit inside a discretionary framework that did not exist before. Here is what changed, who it reaches, and what people already on supervision can file today.

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Drug OffensesAug 11

Medical Marijuana Is Schedule III and Recreational Marijuana Is Still Schedule I: The Two-Tier Federal Drug Law Nobody Explained

A April 2026 Justice Department order moved FDA-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III while leaving everything else in Schedule I. A separate DEA hearing on broader rescheduling closed July 15, 2026, with post-hearing briefs due August 17. Here is what the split actually changes under 21 U.S.C. 841, and what it does not.

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Domestic ViolenceJul 22

Colorado Expands Its Domestic Violence Definition on August 12: Monitoring, Isolation, and Financial Control Now Count in Custody Cases

Colorado's HB26-1309 takes effect August 12, 2026, broadening what counts as domestic violence in separation and custody cases. Here is what actually changed, and why it lives in family court rather than the criminal code.

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Plea BargainsJul 21

The Fine Print That Waives Your Appeal Can Now Be Torn Up: In Hunter v. United States the Supreme Court Says a Plea Deal Can't Lock In a 'Miscarriage of Justice'

On June 18, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a federal plea deal's appeal waiver cannot be enforced when doing so would leave an egregious, system-discrediting error in place. Here is what the miscarriage-of-justice standard covers, what it still bars, and what it means for anyone who signed away their right to appeal.

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DUI/DWIJul 20

'They Catch Everybody': A New National Investigation Says Roadside Sobriety Tests Fail Sober Drivers, and Courts Are Listening

A multi-year, 22-state investigation and a 2023 randomized trial reach the same uncomfortable conclusion: roadside sobriety tests are good enough to justify an arrest but too unreliable to prove impairment in court. Here is what the tests measure, why sober people fail, and how defense lawyers are fighting the results.

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Juvenile CrimesJul 19

In Mississippi, a Gun Doesn't Have to Be Fired, or Even Used, to Send a 13-Year-Old to Adult Court

A new Mississippi law routes children as young as 13 directly into circuit court when a firearm is present during a violent crime. The weapon does not have to be fired or even used. Here is what SB 2710 changes and who it sweeps in.

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Federal CrimesJul 18

Six Jurors, Not Twelve: The Supreme Court Just Agreed to Decide Whether Florida-Style Juries Are Unconstitutional

On June 15, 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to decide in Kian v. Florida whether a serious felony can be tried by a six-person jury, teeing up a challenge to a 56-year-old precedent. Here is what it means for pending trials, plea deals, and old convictions in the six states that still seat sub-12 juries.

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White Collar CrimeJul 17

The Sentencing Credit for Fixing Your Life Before Sentencing: The Commission Floated It, Then Left It Out of the November 1 Rules

A first-of-its-kind federal guideline would have rewarded documented rehabilitation before sentencing. The U.S. Sentencing Commission proposed Section 3E1.2 in December 2025, then declined to adopt it on April 16, 2026. Here is what it would have done, why it stalled, and what actually changed for white-collar defendants on November 1.

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DUI/DWIJul 16

Pennsylvania Just Invented a New DUI Crime That Turns Your Old ARD Into a Prior Offense

A 2025 win for Pennsylvania DUI defendants lasted less than seven months. After the state Supreme Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Shifflett that a prior ARD acceptance could not be used to enhance a DUI sentence, lawmakers responded with Act 58 of 2025, creating a brand-new offense at 75 Pa.C.S. 3802(h) that charges a fresh DUI as a second offense if you completed ARD within the past 10 years.

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Drug OffensesJul 15

The Hemp Gummy in Your Cabinet Becomes a Schedule I Drug on November 12: The Federal Ban That Recriminalizes Most of the Market

A hemp gummy that is legal today can become a Schedule I controlled substance on November 12, 2026. A one-year fuse lit by H.R. 5371 rewrites the federal definition of hemp and pushes delta-8, THCA flower, and most edibles back under the drug laws. Here is what changed, who is exposed, and what survives.

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Federal CrimesJul 14

The Sentencing Guidelines Just Swept 'Fentanyl-Related Substances' Into the Drug Quantity Table, and It Takes Effect November 1

The scheduling fight over fentanyl analogues got the headlines. The quieter change is the one that decides actual prison time: on November 1, 2026, the U.S. Sentencing Commission's amendment adds 'fentanyl-related substance' to the Drug Quantity Table with a rebuttable presumption that shifts the burden to the defense.

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ExpungementJul 13

Virginia Started Sealing Convictions for the First Time in Its History on July 1: What Actually Went Live and Who Qualifies

On July 1, 2026, Virginia began sealing criminal convictions for the first time ever. Here is the eligibility map: what seals automatically, what requires a petition, and why 'sealed' still is not a blank slate.

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ExpungementJul 12

For the First Time in U.S. History, a Federal Conviction Can Be Erased: The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act Opens the Door

The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, signed into law in January 2026, is the first federal statute to authorize expungement of a federal criminal record. Here is what it does, who qualifies, and why it matters far beyond trafficking cases.

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Federal CrimesJul 11

The Supreme Court's Chatrie Ruling Turns Google 'Geofence' Warrants Into a Search, and Into a New Suppression Argument

On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court held 6-3 in Chatrie v. United States that a geofence warrant compelling your phone's Location History is a Fourth Amendment search. That opens a suppression argument in drug, robbery, and burglary cases built on Google location dragnets. It does not guarantee one, because the good-faith exception still stands in the way.

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Federal CrimesJul 10

An Algorithm Can Help Arrest You and Never Show Up in Your Case File: Maryland Forces Disclosure as Virginia Bans Real-Time Tracking July 1

A facial recognition match can put you under arrest without ever appearing in your discovery file. Maryland now forces prosecutors to disclose it, Virginia bans real-time tracking on July 1, and a federal bill wants a warrant first. Here is what it means for your defense.

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DUI/DWIJul 9

The .05 Blood-Alcohol Line Is Spreading: Washington Eyed a July Cutover, and Utah Is No Longer the Only Bill on the Table

Washington's Senate voted to drop the DUI threshold from .08 to .05 before the 2026 bill died in the House. Utah still stands alone in enforcement, but a growing list of states is pushing the same number. Here is what a .05 limit actually means for drivers and their defense.

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Federal CrimesJul 8

The Meth 'Purity Loophole' That Doubles Federal Sentences Survives: The Reform the Sentencing Commission Proposed, Then Quietly Shelved

A widely expected fix to federal methamphetamine sentencing was proposed in December 2025 and then dropped at the Commission's April 2026 meeting without explanation. The 'actual vs. mixture' purity split does not disappear on November 1. Here is what was on the table, why it matters, and what still stands.

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DUI/DWIJul 6

Half of Sober Drivers Fail the Roadside Marijuana Test: Why Courts Are Starting to Throw Out Cannabis DUI Field Evidence

A UC San Diego clinical trial found trained officers rated nearly half of sober placebo participants as impaired on roadside sobriety tests. Defense attorneys are now using that number to challenge cannabis DUI arrests.

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Drug OffensesJul 5

The Broken Taillight Stop Is Dying: Los Angeles Moves to Ban Pretextual Traffic Stops, and It Changes How Drug and Gun Cases Begin

On May 6, 2026, the Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 to move toward barring the LAPD from making pretextual traffic stops for minor, non-safety violations. Here is what the vote actually does, why the Whren doctrine still controls the courtroom, and why breaking the new rule usually will not get drug or gun evidence thrown out in California.

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