For those of you interested to urge your state courts to chart an independent course, feel free to reach out. Here’s the amicus brief by the ACLU of MI and the national ACLU in the Michigan case: www.aclu.org/cases/people...

People v. Jennings | American Civil Liberties Union

This case asks whether Michigan should adopt an approach to state constitutional interpretation that prioritizes Michigan sources and does not automatically require reference to parallel federal provi...

aclu.org

The disaster with the WA Bar Exam is awful. Students worked hard & now their start dates are pushed back. WA needs to grant diploma privilege admission to those who satisfy minimal requirements w/respect to law school performance or give provisional licenses now. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

'An absolute disaster': 645 prospective Washington lawyers left in limbo after bar exam cancelled over technology issue

Mick Guile is one of about 30 recent law school graduates who planned to join the King County Public Defender’s Office this fall.

spokesman.com

Such a pleasure to join @pdefenselesspod.bsky.social & talk about my article: "Waiting for Justice: Unconstitutional Delays in the Appointment of Criminal Defense Counsel." Defense attorneys in places with appointment delays can read more about what they can do here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Public Defenseless Podcast@pdefenselesspod.bsky.social · 2w ago

Some states pause the case until a public defender is available. Professor Eve Brensike Primus: you cannot pause the one stage that decides the case. Video gets erased. Witnesses vanish. Ep. 499 is live. open.spotify.com/episode/4I3R...

Major Fourth Amendment win. Geofence queries are searches violating a reasonable expectation of privacy and requiring a warrant. Huge implications that digital Is different for the Fourth Amendment. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Here are my 10 big takeaways from Chatrie – this term’s biggest Fourth Amendment case. The stakes were high. The US government argued that they could obtain any location data from anyone for any reason without a warrant. The Supreme Court rejected that argument. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Govt gets warrant for two weeks of records, but provider overproduces and sends extra records. Connecticut SCT: Whether or not the provider was a state actor here, 4A requires a 2nd warrant before the government can retain & use overproduced records. www.jud.ct.gov/external/sup...

A new commission made up of legislators, public defenders, academics and advocates seeks to push California to begin providing resources and enforcing minimum standards for county public defender systems. cal.news/4vb5cU9 📸 Miguel Gutierrez Jr.

After Bruen established 2nd Amendment limits on criminal laws on gun possession, police observing a person in possession of a gun do not automatically have reasonable suspicion to stop them for illegal gun possession, Appellate Court of Maryland rules. mdcourts.gov/data/opinion...

Anonymous tip about felon with a gun leads to traffic stop and discovery of the gun. Prosecution puts on evidence of the tip at trial to explain the stop and officers' public safety concerns. CA8: Admitting tip violated Confrontation Clause, reversed. ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/26/06...

New Data for Defenders: a motion seeking to preclude use of the term “victim,” arguing that the label presupposes guilt and undermines the presumption of innocence datafordefenders.org

Data for Defenders

Bringing Social Science into the Courtroom

datafordefenders.org

Holding 17 year old for seven hours alone, refusing his requests to see his mother, claiming they had video evidence, and threatening the death penalty made resulting confession of committing two murders involuntary and inadmissible, Tenn SCT rules. www.tncourts.gov/sites/defaul...

The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Black death-row inmate in Mississippi who alleged racial bias in the makeup of the jury that convicted him. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the opinion, joined by Justices John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Supreme Court Rules for Black Death Row Inmate in Mississippi Over Racial Bias in Jury Makeup

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for Terry Pitchford, a Black death row inmate in Mississippi, over racial bias in the jury that convicted him.

mississippifreepress.org

Md SCT: The government can't use data about an area being a high-crime neighborhood to help justify a stop if the officer didn't know of the specific data when he made the stop. If it was learned later, it can't be part of the suspicion calculus. www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinion... #N

In Andrew v. White, the Court said “certain principles are fundamental enough that when new factual permutations arise, the necessity to apply the earlier rule will be beyond doubt," and state courts will have no excuse for ignoring that law. I hope federal habeas courts take that language to heart.

MDefenders at Michigan Law@mdefenders.bsky.social · 2mo ago

MDefenders Founder & Faculty Director, Professor Eve Primus @primuseve.bsky.social, is also a habeas scholar at UMichLaw and recently discussed the Andrew v. White ruling and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) www.law360.com/articles/247...

So proud of the @mdefenders.bsky.social Class of 2026. Our graduation ceremony was standing room only & filled with laughter, tears, & well wishes for these outstanding client-centered advocates. We are all so proud of you and can't wait to see all the good trouble that you will make in the world!

MDefenders at Michigan Law@mdefenders.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Today we send a fresh group of well prepared, immensely capable, good people out into the world to do important work. They are smart, creative, passionate, eager to fight the carceral state. Congratulations to our graduating @UMichLaw MDefenders, class of 2026!

Excited to be presenting at the Criminal Ethics Schmooze at Fordham Law this morning about the structure of indigent defense delivery and how we can and should talk about horizontal vs vertical defense.

“[B]ail must generally be set in an amount that is reasonably attainable, in order to effectuate the defendant’s constitutional right to pretrial release on bail.” Amazing victory.

alec karakatsanis@equalityalec.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We won! Hundreds of thousands of people who are currently detained and separated from their families in lower-level cases will be released from jail every year. An incredible victory for liberty and public safety. You can read the historic decision here: civilrightscorps.org/wp-content/u...

What an incredible group of @mdefenders.bsky.social students in the Public Defender Training Institute this year. I can't wait to see what they will do on and off the court after they graduate this spring!

MDefenders at Michigan Law@mdefenders.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It's the end of the academic year @umichlaw.bsky.social. You know what that means: time for the annual MDefenders Public Defender Training Institute East Coast versus West Coast basketball game. Such a blast spending a year learning (and playing) with this group!

Paul Heaton @quattronecenter.org recently accused ChatGPT of sending fake text messages from him to people (an impossible crime). Chat denied it, but Paul used techniques from the Reid Interrogation Method, the method used by US law enforcement, to wear Chat down and get it to falsely confess. 🧵

Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice@quattronecenter.org · 3mo ago

QC Academic Director Paul Heaton used the same tactics as many law enforcement agencies to interrogate ChatGPT, and it confessed to a crime it didn't commit. A great @theintercept.com piece today from @radleybalko.bsky.social: theintercept.com/2026/04/23/c...

MASSACHUSETTS SJC: Pretextual traffic stop conducted *24 hrs* after alleged traffic infraction violated the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. www.mass.gov/doc/commonwe...

Ieshaah Murphy has a great article out entitled "Defenders Assemble: A Blueprint for Building Antiracist Public Defender Offices." It's a must read for public defenders but also for those of us who educate aspiring public defenders. We can and should be better. scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcont...

I recently had the honor of giving the keynote address at the Idaho Law Review's symposium on transforming public defense. I talk the importance of public defense work and what needs to be done to make it meaningful going forward. Remarks now available on ssrn: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

New from me: How a Quattrone Center criminologist got ChatGPT to falsely confess to a crime. theintercept.com/2026/04/23/c...

ChatGPT Confessed to a Crime It Couldn’t Possibly Have Committed

A renown criminologist’s experiment with ChatGPT demonstrates the destructive power of police to elicit false confessions.

theintercept.com

A renown criminologist’s experiment with ChatGPT demonstrates the destructive power of police to elicit false confessions. Another must-read by @radleybalko.bsky.social theintercept.com/2026/04/23/c...

ChatGPT Confessed to a Crime It Couldn’t Possibly Have Committed

A renown criminologist’s experiment with ChatGPT demonstrates the destructive power of police to elicit false confessions.

theintercept.com

As we celebrate Administrative Professionals Day, I want to thank Amber Conway, Sydney Greenwood, & Sofia Nelson for all they do to make @mdefenders.bsky.social possible. We couldn't offer the programming & support we do w/o their energy, enthusiasm, & hard work. Thank you!

a yellow and blue flag with the letter m on it and the words go blue

ALT: a yellow and blue flag with the letter m on it and the words go blue

media.tenor.com

My forthcoming article, Voluntary-ish? Psychology & Consent to Search, is now live on SSRN! I welcome any comments and thoughts on this paper. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Interesting pause on AI assisted police reports. www.govtech.com/artificial-i...

Connecticut Pauses AI Use to Create ‘Criminal Reports’

The chief state’s attorney, with support from the State Police and the Connecticut Police Chief’s Association, is pausing deployment of AI-powered tools to deepen understanding and set rules around th...

govtech.com

Officer testifies he saw a bulge under suspect's sweatshirt, and that lifting sweatshirt revealed drugs. Iowa Ct App, 2-1: Video shows officer couldn't see the drugs until he lifted the suspect's sweatshirt, so drugs can't be admitted in plain view. iowacourts.gov/courtcases/2...

I am honored to be giving the keynote address at the Idaho Law Review symposium “Justice for All: Systemic Transformation of Public Defense” tomorrow alongside a great lineup of scholars, practitioners, & policymakers. There is a virtual participation option too: www.eventbrite.com/e/idaho-law-...

Idaho Law Review 2026 Symposium

Join the Idaho Law Review for our annual symposium "Justice for All: Systemic Transformation to Public Defense" on April 13, 2026!

eventbrite.com