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Rights explainers, case coverage, and defense-oriented reporting.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Supreme Court Just Narrowed the Feds' Power to Take Your Gun Over Marijuana: What U.S. v. Hemani Actually Decided
In United States v. Hemani, the Supreme Court unanimously threw out a Texas man's conviction for owning a gun while using marijuana. But the win is narrow and fact-specific, not a facial repeal of the federal drug-user gun ban. Here is what the ruling changes, what it leaves untouched, and what a cannabis-using gun owner should and should not conclude.
Rutherford v. United States Slams the Compassionate Release Door on Stacked Gun Sentences
On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the 18-year gap between Daniel Rutherford's 32-year stacked gun sentence and the 14-year term Congress later set is not an 'extraordinary and compelling reason' for release. Here is what the decision forecloses, and the narrow paths that remain.
Supreme Court Tosses Twitter-Saudi Spy Conviction Over Where He Was Tried: Under Abouammo, Section 1519 Venue Follows the Lie, Not the Investigation
A former Twitter employee paid roughly $300,000 to feed dissident data to a Saudi official just had a federal conviction thrown out 9-0. The Supreme Court did not rule on his guilt. It ruled on geography, and the decision protects every federal defendant from being charged in a prosecutor's home district.
Chatrie v. United States Could End Geofence Warrants: Why the Supreme Court Is About to Decide If Police Can Dragnet Everyone Near a Crime Scene
The Supreme Court will rule by late June 2026 on whether police can use geofence warrants to sweep up every phone near a crime scene. Here is what Chatrie v. United States means for your Fourth Amendment rights.
Culley v. Marshall Said No Prompt Hearing Required. State Legislatures Are Saying Otherwise in 2026.
After the Supreme Court ruled in Culley v. Marshall that no prompt post-seizure hearing is constitutionally required, Washington, Colorado, Oklahoma, and other states moved to guarantee one anyway. Here is what the new laws mean for defense lawyers and owners.
Counterman's Recklessness Standard Is Killing Social Media 'True Threat' Prosecutions: Why Posts Defendants Never Read Their Audience Aren't Crimes
After Counterman v. Colorado, prosecutors must prove a defendant consciously disregarded the risk a post would read as a threat. On broadcast platforms, that proof is collapsing.
Snyder v. United States Two Years In: Why Federal § 666 Bribery Cases Against State and Local Officials Are Collapsing
Two years after the Supreme Court's 6-3 Snyder decision, district courts are vacating § 666 bribery counts and forcing DOJ to rebuild public-corruption cases. Here is what changed, why the ComEd Four got a partial retrial, and what defendants charged under federal bribery laws should be filing in the next 30 to 90 days.
Rahimi One Year Later: How Domestic Violence Gun Surrender Orders Are Still Getting Reversed on Procedural Grounds
One year after the Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on gun possession for people under domestic violence protective orders, defense lawyers are still winning as-applied challenges. The reason: most state protective-order forms never memorialize the findings Rahimi actually required.
Barrett v. United States Was Not About Felon-in-Possession: The Real Status of § 922(g)(1) After January 2026
Many federal defenders heard that Barrett v. United States would force the Supreme Court to decide felon-in-possession challenges by June 2026. That is not what Barrett decided. Here is the actual landscape for § 922(g)(1) cases.
AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material Is Now Being Charged Federally: Why the First Conviction Will Set Precedent
The Justice Department has begun prosecuting entirely AI-generated child sexual abuse material under a hybrid charging theory that pairs 18 U.S.C. 2256 with the PROTECT Act's obscenity statute. The first federal conviction will likely set the constitutional baseline for every case that follows.
Deepfake Evidence in Criminal Court: What Defense Lawyers Are Filing Before Federal Rule 901(c) Takes Effect
The amended Federal Rule of Evidence 901(c) is not yet in force, and the earliest possible effective date is December 1, 2027. Defense lawyers are not waiting. Here is what they are filing now under existing Rules 901, 702, and 403, and how the pending rulemaking is already shifting the gatekeeping standard.
Luigi Mangione's Federal Death Penalty Case: Why a Manhattan Jury Will Never Vote on Execution
A January 30, 2026 ruling by Judge Margaret Garnett and the Justice Department's decision not to appeal mean a Manhattan federal jury will never deliberate on whether Luigi Mangione lives or dies. The capital count fell on the elements, not the evidence.
United States v. Hemani: Why the Justices Sound Ready to Strike the Gun Ban on Marijuana Users
The Supreme Court heard United States v. Hemani on March 2, 2026, and a majority of justices sounded skeptical of the federal law that bars drug users from owning firearms. Here is what 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) actually prohibits, how the case reached the Court, and what a ruling could mean for defendants charged with possessing a gun while using a controlled substance.