Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusMatthew Tokson @mtokson.bsky.social · 03/10/2026A federal district judge just declared that Flock camera systems violate the Fourth Amendment! Applying Chatrie, the court concludes that extensive camera networks engage in unlawful "indiscriminate mass surveillance." A major ruling. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... 14118
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusColin Miller @evidenceprof.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Arizona Court of Appeals reverses defendant's sentence for his manslaughter conviction, finding that AI victim impact statement was "a depiction of the victim and his thoughts created from the imaginings of the victim’s sister." coa1.azcourts.gov/Portals/1/Op... 163
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Attn: @umichlaw.bsky.social and @mdefenders.bsky.social is hiring a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law/Associate Director for the new MDefenders Center for Public Defense. Job posting here: careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2.... Come work w/me to train the next generation of public defenders!careers.umich.eduClinical Assistant Professor of Law and Associate Director MDefenders Center for Public Defense | U-M Careers 0311
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusOrin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Use of a cell-site simulator is a Fourth Amendment search under Chatrie and Carpenter, Fourth Circuit holds, agreeing w/ Maryland courts. (But also, there is QI here, as no federal court of appeals has reached the issue yet and this occurred back in 2014.) www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/181... 14410
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026The article is called "Beyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public Defense. It is available here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... All comments and thoughts are welcome! /endpapers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 021
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Many thanks to the public defenders at different offices around the country who were willing to speak to me about the structure of their indigent defense delivery systems and to the scholars who gave me feedback on earlier drafts. /8papers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 120
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Ultimately, I advocate for a hybrid, team-based approach in which a primary attorney maintains accountability to the client while an interdisciplinary team shares responsibility for the case, combining the strengths of both models while minimizing their weaknesses. /7papers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 120
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Drawing on comparisons to medicine, business, and other fields of law, I argue the relevant question is whether the system provides effective, continuous, client-centered advocacy. /6papers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 110
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Second, the Article argues that the dominant preference for vertical representation is too simplistic. Both vertical and horizontal systems have distinct advantages and costs, and the "vertical is better" mantra has obscured rather than illuminated those tradeoffs. /5papers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 110
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Likewise, offices associated with horizontal representation frequently adopt vertical practices for serious or trial-stage cases. Public defense systems therefore exist along a spectrum rather than within two mutually exclusive categories. /4papers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 110
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026First, I argue the horizontal-vs-vertical debate presents a false binary. No public defender office is purely vertical or purely horizontal. Even offices that claim to be vertical rely on stage-based representation for 1st appearances, conflicts, specialty units, & appellate/capital cases. /3papers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 110
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Experts, policymakers, and bar association standards have long treated vertical representation as the gold standard. This Article pushes back on that consensus on two fronts. /2papers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 110
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026I just posted a new article challenging the idea that public defense must choose b/t "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney handles a case from initial appearance to disposition & "horizontal" representation, in which different attorneys handle different stages of the same case. /1papers.ssrn.comBeyond the Horizontal-Vertical Divide: The Case for Team-Based Representation in Public DefenseThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that public defense systems must choose between "vertical" representation, in which the same attorney 184
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusMDefenders at Michigan Law @mdefenders.bsky.social · 08/09/2026An incredible Public Defender Training Institute Retreat this weekend preparing students for careers in indigent defense. Thanks to amazing cofacilitators Rick Barinbaum Saeeda Joseph-Charles Blase Kearney & Anna Yaldo for your time wisdom & thoughtful feedback michigan.law.umich.edu/public-defen...michigan.law.umich.eduPublic Defender Training Institute | University of Michigan Law School 153
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 26/08/2026I am so thrilled to announce that MDefenders has received this grant. We are very excited about what this funding will do to enable us to grow and expand. Go Blue! 021
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusPatrick Bryant @patrickbryant.bsky.social · 25/08/2026This is such a tremendous program! Any one of these events would be more than I had access to in law school, and they've got a whole semester full of them! No wonder that all the UM alum defenders I know are excellent. 011
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Attention @umichlaw.bsky.social students: if you are interested in public defense or criminal legal system reform, please check out the MDefenders calendar of events below and join us! 153
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 18/08/2026So it is Orientation week @umichlaw.bsky.social, and I have the pleasure and honor of leading one of this year's initial sessions on how to prepare for law school classes. I can't wait to meet all of the incoming 1Ls and talk to them about the three-year journey ahead. 010
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusOrin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 17/08/2026Divided 4th Circuit: The warrant to search a house was so lacking in probable cause here—as it failed to show a nexus between the drug activity and this home—that the good faith exception does not apply. Per Benjamin w/Gregory; Heytens dissents. www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/224... 1195
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusOrin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 17/08/2026Although asking a person for ID does not trigger a 4th Amendment seizure, an officer telling a person who has refused the request that the officer is making a lawful order requiring the person to hand over the ID *does* trigger a seizure, CA2 holds. ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/OP... 44816
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 16/08/2026I am halfway through my day of meeting individually with all of the rising 3L public defender students @umichlaw.bsky.social. They are such an impressive group. Look out PD world! You got some gems coming your way. 080
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusCalMatters @calmatters.org · 16/08/2026The California Supreme Court threw out a guilty plea from a woman who did not understand that a conviction would jeopardize her immigration status. cal.news/3SGcP6Z 📸 Jeff Chiu, AP 0145
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusValena Beety @valenabeety.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Thank you @statecourtreport.org Kathrina Wolfkot @brennancenter.org, discussing faulty forensic evidence at trial as a due process violation even in states w/out junk science writs. Sotomayor's McCrory concurrence signals state legislatures to adopt junk science writs, too. tinyurl.com/mvtsk4sttinyurl.comDo “Junk Science” Convictions Violate Due Process?The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that a conviction obtained using later-discredited scientific evidence is unconstitutional; relief in these situations depends on state law. 065
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusMatthew Segal @segalmr.bsky.social · 01/08/2026For 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...aclu.orgPeople v. Jennings | American Civil Liberties UnionThis 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... 012
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 31/07/2026The 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...spokesman.com'An absolute disaster': 645 prospective Washington lawyers left in limbo after bar exam cancelled over technology issueMick Guile is one of about 30 recent law school graduates who planned to join the King County Public Defender’s Office this fall. 042
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 23/07/2026Such 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....papers.ssrn.comWaiting for Justice: Unconstitutional Delays in the Appointment of Criminal Defense Counsel<p><span>The Constitution guarantees a right to counsel in criminal cases, but indigent criminal defendants are commonly left to languish in jail without legal 066
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusAndrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 29/06/2026Major 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...supremecourt.gov 27524
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusAndrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 29/06/2026Here 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...supremecourt.gov 257
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusOrin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Govt 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... 1283
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusCalMatters @calmatters.org · 16/06/2026A 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. 03814
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusOrin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 04/06/2026After 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... 68219
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusOrin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Anonymous 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... 2203
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusMDefenders at Michigan Law @mdefenders.bsky.social · 01/06/2026New 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.orgdatafordefenders.orgData for DefendersBringing Social Science into the Courtroom 101
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusOrin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Holding 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... 312226
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusAshton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 28/05/2026The 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.mississippifreepress.orgSupreme Court Rules for Black Death Row Inmate in Mississippi Over Racial Bias in Jury MakeupThe Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for Terry Pitchford, a Black death row inmate in Mississippi, over racial bias in the jury that convicted him. 811725
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusOrin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Md 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 0387
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 26/05/2026In 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. 011
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 11/05/2026So 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! 030
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 01/05/2026Excited 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. 020
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 30/04/2026“[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. 05712
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 30/04/2026What 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! 000
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Using deception, lies, and threats to interrogate suspects is not just unnecessary; it is dangerous. There are other, better ways to interrogate suspects, and I hope that experiments like this one with Chat make legislatures and judges pay attention. /end 010
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Want to learn more about judicial/legislative efforts to limit these techniques & instead use methods less fraught (and used in many other countries)? I wrote an article, The State[s] of Confession Law in a Post-Miranda World, cataloguing & evaluating diff state approaches: lnkd.in/eW7SNxiS. /3 110
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Reid tactics are used to "break" suspects in interrogation rooms throughout the US. This experiment with Chat shows what researchers like Saul Kassin, Steve Drizin, & Richard Leo have been saying for years: the tactics can lead to false confessions and should not be used. /2 120
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Paul 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. 🧵 130
Reposted by Eve Brensike PrimusMatthew Segal @segalmr.bsky.social · 26/04/2026MASSACHUSETTS SJC: Pretextual traffic stop conducted *24 hrs* after alleged traffic infraction violated the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. www.mass.gov/doc/commonwe... 083
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 25/04/2026Ieshaah 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...scholarship.shu.edu 000
Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 24/04/2026I 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....papers.ssrn.comA Foundation, Not a Finish Line: Statewide Structure and the Future of Public Defense<p>This keynote address is, at its core, a love letter to public defense — to the defenders who stand beside accused people every day, force the system to recog 010