Breaking

Latest criminal justice updates and case developments

GAVELDAILY
Latest Coverage

Latest Cases & Updates

Rights explainers, case coverage, and defense-oriented reporting.

Across the industry

Criminal justice wire

Criminal justice reporting and court developments from established newsrooms. Agency announcements are labeled; charges and allegations are not findings of guilt.

From the Gavel Daily newsroom

AllWhite Collar CrimeTheft & FraudDrug OffensesAssaultPlea BargainsExpungementFederal CrimesDUI/DWIDomestic ViolenceJuvenile Crimes
The Supreme Court Said a Geofence Warrant Is a Search. It Did Not Say the Evidence Comes Out.
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.

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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead
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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead
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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead
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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead
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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead
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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead
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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead
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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead
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.

Gavel Daily EditorialRead