MISTAKEN IDENTITY AND THE FOURTH AMENDMENT
On June 4, 2012, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Phillips [i] which is instructive regarding cases of mistaken identity during officer/citizen stops and the Fourth...
View ArticleOFF DUTY OFFICER WORKING SECURITY NOT SUBJECT TO 4TH AMENDMENT
Many law enforcement officers work some form of secondary employment while off-duty to supplement their income. In most cases, these law enforcement officers work with the approval of their agency, and...
View ArticlePATC, LLRMI Launches New Public Safety Internal Affairs Certification
We are proud to announce our new Internal Affairs Certification and website. The certification is a professional training, education and certification program offered by the Legal and Liability Risk...
View ArticleSIXTH CIRCUIT SUPPRESSES EVIDENCE FROM SEARCH INCIDENT TO ARREST OF AUTOMOBILE
On March 21, 2012, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. McCraney [i], which serves as an excellent review of searches incident to arrest of automobiles in light of Arizona v....
View ArticleSIXTH CIRCUIT UPHOLDS K9 SEARCH WHERE DOG JUMPED INTO CAR
It is well established that a free air sniff by a police canine of the exterior of an automobile during the normal time frame for a traffic stop does not implicate the Fourth Amendment. This is because...
View ArticleINTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER INFORMATION AND THE FOURTH AMENDMENT
On March 15, 2012, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Hatcher v. State [i] in which the court discussed whether a person other than the actual subscriber has a reasonable expectation of privacy in...
View ArticleNINTH CIRCUIT HOLDS GUN POINTING AT END OF VEHICLE PURSUIT REASONABLE
On March 21, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Anderson v. City of Bainbridge Island, et al. [i], in which they held that officers acted reasonably in briefly pointing their guns at a...
View ArticleSIXTH CIRCUIT UPHOLDS INVENTORY SEARCH OF AUTO
On June 19, 2012, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Jackson [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law related to inventory searches of automobiles.
View ArticleGEORGIA COURT UPHOLDS ROADBLOCK INITIATED BY A FIELD SUPERVISOR
On September 24, 2012, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Williams v. State [i], which serves as an excellent review of constitutional law and Georgia law regarding roadblocks.
View ArticleNINTH CIRCUIT AFFIRMS SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF OFFICERS IN TASER® CASE
On September 11, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Marquez v. City of Phoenix et al. [i], which serves as an excellent review regarding the law related to the constitutional requirements...
View ArticleTHE IMPORTANCE OF A VEHICLE IMPOUND POLICY
In 1976, the United States Supreme Court decided South Dakota v. Opperman [i] and held that police officers may conduct inventory searches of lawfully impounded vehicles for the purposes of (1)...
View ArticleTHE COP WHO'S A SEXUAL PREDATOR
Sexual misconduct, unfortunately, has become a more frequent allegation for many police agencies, large and small. This article, however, deals with the officer or deputy who comes to work and his...
View ArticleFOURTH CIRCUIT UPHOLDS EVIDENCE FOUND BY K9 SNIFF DURING TRAFFIC STOP
On July 17, 2012, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Hill [i] which serves as an excellent review pertaining to the law regarding officers questioning drivers during...
View ArticleEIGHTH CIRCUIT UPHOLDS SEARCH OF RENTAL CAR
On August 6, 2012, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Lumpkins [i] which serves as an excellent lesson regarding the law pertaining to overdue rental cars and the rental...
View ArticleFIRST CIRCUIT HOLDS PASSENGER HAS NO REASONABLE EXPECTATION IN CAR
On July 31, 2012, the First Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Symonevich [i] and held that a passenger in an automobile, which he does not own, has no reasonable expectation of...
View ArticleIS A COMMAND TO EMPTY POCKETS A SEARCH UNDER THE FOURTH AMENDMENT?
On July 17, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Pope [i] in which they analyzed, under the Fourth Amendment, an officer’s command to a suspect to empty his pockets.
View ArticleSELF-HELP REPOSSESSION VERSUS THE FOURTH AMENDMENT
Law enforcement officers are often called to conduct "stand-bys" for repossession agents ("repo-agents") as they conduct self-help repossession of behalf of creditors. Self-help repossession is simply...
View ArticleSUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA UPHOLDS CELL PHONE RECORD EVIDENCE
On November 5, 2012, the Supreme Court of Georgia decided Registe v. State [i] which provides excellent guidance regarding the release of non-content cellular phone records.
View ArticleTERRY STOPS AND DE FACTO ARRESTS
On November 7, 2012, the First Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Rabbia [i], which serves as an excellent review of reasonable suspicion, Terry stops, and de facto arrests.
View ArticleEIGHTH CIRCUIT UPHOLDS WARRANTLESS SEARCH OF MOTOR HOME
On November 8, 2012, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Coleman [i], which serves as an excellent review of traffic stop and vehicle search law.
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