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Fourth Circuit: Unreasonable Post-Seizure Delay in Obtaining Warrant Requires Suppression of Evidence
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that a 31-day delay in obtaining a search warrant after seizing a defendant’s cellphone, without reasonable justification, violates the Fourth Amendment and requires suppression of the evidence obtained from the phone.
Samuel Pratt was suspected by the ...
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- Florida Deputy Falsifies Drug Field-Test Results, Freeing 11 From Jail, by Edward Lyon
- Police Not Required to Protect; Are They Required to Serve?, by Matthew Clarke
- Delaware Supreme Court: ‘The Sixth Amendment Demands More Than the Presence the Morning of Trial of a Warm Body With a Law Degree’, by Douglas Ankney
- Deadly Force Mindset as Justifiable Defense Questioned, by Kevin Bliss
- L.A. County Wipes Out Almost $90 Million in Debt for Juvenile Detention Fees, by Dale Chappell
- Federal Judge Rules Massachusetts Law Banning Secretly Recording Police in Public Is Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit Holds 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- In Washington State, a Man’s Home Is No Longer His Castle, by Edward Lyon
- New Jersey Board Finds Suspending Drivers’ Licenses Because of Failure to Pay Court Fines Doesn’t Work, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Must Provide Rationale When Denying Motion for § 3582(c)(2) Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
- D.C. Circuit Holds Attempted Drug Offenses Do Not Count Toward Career Criminal Designation, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules as a Matter of 1st Impression That Mother’s Use of Opioids During Pregnancy Not Child Abuse, by Chad Marks
- Fourth Circuit: Unreasonable Post-Seizure Delay in Obtaining Warrant Requires Suppression of Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
- California Supreme Court Rules That Defense Counsel Can’t Agree to Stipulation That’s Tantamount to Guilty Plea Without Voluntary and Intelligent Waiver by Defendant, by Derek Gilna
- Creation of Prosecutorial Watchdog in New York Spotlights Distinction Between Misconduct and Unfair Conduct, by Michael Berk
- Georgia Supreme Court Announces Statute Mandating Lifetime GPS Monitoring of ‘Sexually Dangerous Predator’ Even After Completion of Sentence Is Facially Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit Rules Miscalculation of Guidelines Sentencing Range Plain Error That Merits Correction Even Though Not Raised by Defendant, by Chad Marks
- Prosecutors Have the Power to Stop Bad Roadside Drug Tests From Ruining People’s Lives, by Sagiv Galai
- Former New Jersey Police Chief Faces Rare Federal Hate Crime Charges
- Cops Seize Almost $150,000 from Black Musician for Not Using His Turn Signal, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit Vacates a Sentence Imposed for Violation of Supervised Release Because the District Court Failed to Disclose to the Defendant the Probation Officer’s Confidential Sentencing Recommendations
- Fourth Circuit: South Carolina Conviction for Assaulting, Wounding, or Beating Officer While Resisting Arrest Is Not Predicate Violent Felony Conviction Under ACCA, by Douglas Ankney
- Legal Aid Society Counters NYC Police Misconduct With New Database
- Florida Cop Found Guilty of Killing Stranded Driver, a First in 30 Years in State
- Second Circuit: Government’s Misleading Disclosure Warrants New Trial, by Douglas Ankney
- Facial Recognition Gives Police Easier Access to Cellphones, by Dale Chappell
- Why Brady Lists Still Don’t Work, by Douglas Ankney
- Abolishing the Death Penalty Leads to Decline in Murders, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas and Remands for Hearing on Actual Innocence Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Federal Judge Denies Qualified Immunity for Cops Who Detained Motorist for Giving Them the Finger, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit: Failure to Disclose that Star Witness Was Hypnotized is 'Brady' Violation, by Douglas Ankney
- Georgia Supreme Court: Statutes Permitting a Defendant’s Refusal to Submit to Breath Tests to Be Admitted into Evidence Are Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Retroactively Applies Birchfield, Holding that Enhanced Criminal Penalties for Refusing Warrantless Blood Tests are Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit: Failure to Prove a Prior Conviction Was a ‘Controlled Substance Offense’ Under the Guidelines Requires Resentencing, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Announces Reasonably Foreseeable Acts of Co-Conspirators Not Sufficient for Fleeing Sentence Enhancement Under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2, by David Reutter
- California Supreme Court: Competence Hearing Required When Formerly Incompetent Defendant Quits Taking Psychotropic Medication and Exhibits Signs of Incompetence, by David Reutter
- SCOTUS: Presumption of Prejudice Recognized in Flores-Ortega Applies Regardless of Defendant’s Appeal Waiver, by Douglas Ankney
- California Governor Announces Moratorium on Capital Punishment, by Bill Barton
- Arrests Do Not Necessarily Represent Solved Crimes, by Edward Lyon
- Expert Report Urges Changes to Forensic Analysis in Courtrooms, by Dale Chappell
- Misconduct in the Forensic Science Community Reveals Urgent Need for Greater Oversight, by Kevin Bliss
- Q&A: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: Which Errors Are Worth Pursuing?, by Dale Chappell, Brandon Sample
- Texas Misuses Privacy Law to Withhold In-Custody Death Information, by Edward Lyon
- Plea Bargaining: Prosecutors Leave Trail of Injustice When Playing Hardball with Defendants, by David Reutter
More from Douglas Ankney:
- Third Circuit Upholds Award of $265,000 to Prisoner Who Was Sexually Assaulted Twice by the Same Guard, Aug. 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA, Aug. 1, 2025
- $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner Whose Baby Was Stillborn, July 15, 2025
- New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, July 15, 2025
- New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, July 15, 2025
- Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, July 15, 2025
- Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, July 15, 2025
- Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose Records of Private Contractors, July 15, 2025
- Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025
- South Carolina Prisoners Granted Class-Action Status in Suit Over Low Wages in Prison Industries Jobs, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Ninth Circuit: ‘Dominion and Control’ Provision of Search Warrant for Suspect’s Computer That Lacked Temporal or Other Limitation Constitutes General Warrant, Aug. 1, 2025. Computer Searches, Search warrants, Warrants, Immediate Control.
- Washington Appellate Court: “Some Evidence” Standard for Prison Discipline “Is Not Illusory”, Dec. 15, 2024. Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidence, Best Evidence Rule.
- Delaware Supreme Court: Warrant That Authorized Search of ‘Any and All’ Data of Named Files on Cellphone Is Invalid General Warrant That Also Failed to Include Temporal Limitation, June 15, 2024. Search warrants, Warrants, Particularity Requirement, Overbreadth, Warrants - General Search, Digital Devices.
- Class-Action Lawsuit Challenges Use of Presumptive Drug Tests by Washington DOC, April 1, 2024. Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidence, Drug Testing, Estimates/Averages - Use of, Inmate Disciplinary Hearings, Prison Disciplinary Proceedings.
- Seventh Circuit Announces Procedures for Addressing ‘Facially Questionable Warrant’ Due to ‘Material Handwritten Alterations’ Unsigned or Initialed by Issuing Judge, Dec. 15, 2023. Search warrants, Warrants, Probable Cause, Material Falsehoods, Authorized Persons.
- Federal Judges Beginning to Reject Geofence Warrants, Nov. 15, 2020. Search warrants, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- Nevada Court Rules Prison Officials Withheld Evidence from Prisoner, Aug. 1, 2020. Evidence, Mail, Methamphetamine, Disciplinary Proceedings.
- Warrant Gives Police Access to DNA Database, March 18, 2020. DNA Testing/Samples, Search warrants.
- New Orleans Sheriff’s Office Tracked Cellphones Absent Warrants, March 18, 2020. Search warrants, Police, Fourth Amendment, rights.
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Rules Search Warrant Failed to Satisfy the Particularity Requirement for Multiple-Occupancy Dwellings, Feb. 18, 2020. Search warrants.