In this case, police in Stuart, Florida were notified that there was a domestic disturbance taking place in a camper parked at the residence of the defendant (Babcock). Officers were told that a female could be heard yelling “Stop, stop, stop.” Deputy Olson responded to the disturbance call. When Olson arrived, she knocked on the […]
A trucker is illegally parked on the entrance ramp to a highway in Arkansas. Thinking the trucker has a problem, Arkansas State Police officer Corporal Craig stops and does a welfare check. The driver (Leon) told the officer he was not having an emergency and pulled over to call his dispatch. At that time however, […]
The defendant in this case argued that Border Patrol Agents impermissibly extended an immigration checkpoint stop beyond its limited immigration purpose to conduct a K9 sniff. He argued the consent he gave to search his vehicle came only after he was asked impermissible questions unrelated to the search and therefore the consent was tainted. As […]
This case provides an excellent review of what is required to establish probable cause using anonymous tips and confidential informants. The court noted that the supervised, controlled buy is a substantial basis for the issuing judge to find probable cause. To read or download the full opinion CLICK HERE
This case provides an excellent example of how to stay within the scope of a warrant to search digital storage devices such that plain view seizures of other evidence of criminal activity will be admissible. In this case, FBI Agents had a search warrant to seize digital storage devices (DSDs) and then search them for […]
Around midnight in Oct 2016 two officers in a marked patrol car were driving in the Capitol Street Corridor section of Milwaukee. This is a high crime area known for drugs and armed robberies and gin violence. As they drove through an intersection, they saw Richmond walking towards their direction on the sidewalk. He had […]
This case had two issues. The first was whether probable cause existed for the issuance of a tracking warrant. The second was whether the ATF agents violated Coleman’s Fourth Amendment rights when they first entered the condominium parking lot and then again when they went onto his driveway (which Coleman argues was his curtilage). The […]
This is a good case for a review of implied consent while in custody. Police watch a suspect (Sallis) with outstanding warrants come and go from an apartment that was not his residence (it was his girlfriend’s apartment where she lived with her small children). They arrested Sallis after he entered a vehicle outside the […]
This is another 42 USC 1983 civil suit for excessive use of force. In this case, the 8th Circuit denied Qualified Immunity to a tall and physically fit LEO who body-slammed a short and fat drunk woman while arresting her for non-violent misdemeanors stemming from a complaint made by the person with whom she lived. […]
This case is about whether an officer should be granted qualified immunity in a 42 USC 1983 civil suit alleging excessive use of force when a SWAT-trained Maine State Trooper shot an killed an armed civilian after a prolonged standoff. Citing Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) and Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 […]