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California Court of Appeal Affirms Grant of Suppression Motion Where Officer’s Pat Search of Defendant Based on High Crime Area, Baggy Clothes, Criminal Record, and Suspect in Separate Case
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, affirmed the Solano County Superior Court’s order granting Juan Pantoja’s motion to suppress evidence because Vacaville Police Officer Chris Hill did not have articulable facts to support a reasonable suspicion to pat search Pantoja. The Court …
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More from this issue:
- They Called 911 for Help. Police and Prosecutors Used a New Junk Science to Decide They Were Liars., by Brett Murphy
- Indiana Supreme Court: Defendant Who Was Both Victim of Crime and Suspect in Unrelated Crime Entitled to Pirtle Warning Prior to Police Asking for Consent to Search Home, by Anthony Accurso
- Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise a Fourth Amendment Claim, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit: State Court Decision Not Entitled to AEDPA Deference Due to Incorrect Legal Standard, Pro Se Habeas Petition Granted Based on Trial Counsel’s Failure to Present Expert Witness on Determinative Issue of Guilt Resulting in IAC, by Jacob Barrett
- Colorado Supreme Court: Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Based on Alleged Unsafe Lane Change, by Anthony Accurso
- California Court of Appeal: Right to Withdraw Plea 23 Years After Entered Because Counsel Failed to Properly Advise of Immigration Consequences and Defendant Mistakenly Believed Permanent Resident Status Barred Adverse Immigration Consequences, by David Reutter
- California Court of Appeal Affirms Grant of Suppression Motion Where Officer’s Pat Search of Defendant Based on High Crime Area, Baggy Clothes, Criminal Record, and Suspect in Separate Case, by Douglas Ankney
- New Jersey Supreme Court: Edwards Violation When Police Fail to Cease Interrogation After Suspect Makes Ambiguous Invocation of Right to Counsel and ‘Initiates’ Request for Further Communication with Police, by Jacob Barrett
- Missouri Supreme Court: Use of Out-of-Court Statement Admitted at Trial Exceeded Limited Purpose of Exception to Rule Against Hearsay Upon Which It Was Admitted, by Matthew Clarke
- Your Car Knows a Lot About You, and the Police Are Listening, by Michael Thompson
- Ohio Supreme Court: Defendant Has Reasonable and Legitimate Basis to Withdraw Guilty Plea Before Sentencing When He Discovers Evidence That Would Have Affected Decision, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: ‘Actual Killer’ Under Felony-Murder Rule Means Person ‘Who Personally Killed the Victim”, by Harold Hempstead
- Attorney General Garland Orders Federal Prosecutors to End Sentencing Disparities Between Crack and Powder Cocaine, by Matthew Clarke
- Governor of Oregon Leaves Legacy of Reformation While Leaving Office, by Kevin Bliss
- Nevada Supreme Court: Trial Court Erred in Denying Motion to Substitute Counsel Where Ample Evidence Showed Counsel Was Unprepared and Motion Timely, by Harold Hempstead
- Seventh Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Present Entrapment Defense Where ‘Some Evidence’ Exists of Government Inducement and Lack of Predisposition to Commit Crime, by Douglas Ankney
- Minneapolis Police Department Surveillance Operation Kneels on the Neck of the First Amendment, by Casey Bastian
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Denial of Faretta Request Without Finding of ‘Severe Mental Illness’ Denied Defendant Sixth Amendment Right to Self-Representation, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Detective Who Arrested Anti-Police-Slogan Sidewalk Chalkers, but Not Other Chalkers Whose Content Wasn’t Anti-Police, Even Though There Was Probable Cause to Arrest, by Matthew Clarke
- Massachusetts Supreme Court: Commonwealth Failed to Show GPS Monitoring as Condition of Probation Is Constitutional, by Anthony Accurso
- Sixth Circuit Announces Nonretroactive Change in Sentencing Law Is Not an ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ Warranting a Sentence Reduction under Compassionate Release Statute, by Douglas Ankney
- Oregon Supreme Court: Federal Law Prohibits Elected DA’s Delegation of Wiretap Authority and Overbroad Initial Search Warrant Requires Suppression of Evidence Obtained as Result of Over 20 Subsequent Warrants, by Mark Wilson
- Invasions of Privacy for People on Electronic Monitoring Is a Warning of Worse Things to Come, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- The District of Colombia: Inside the Most Expansive Surveillance Network in America, by Casey Bastian
- Florida Supreme Court Settles Circuit Split, Holding Dual DUI Convictions Regarding Single Victim in Single Incident Violates Double Jeopardy, by David Reutter
- Houston Cop from Fatal Raid Lied in Other Cases, by Jayson Hawkins
- Electronic Freedom Foundation’s Atlas of Surveillance Helps You Watch Those Who Watch Us, by Michael Thompson
- Was the DNA at the Crime Scene Left by the Perpetrator – or by a Pet?, by Douglas Ankney
- New York Police Department Joins Crowdsourced Surveillance Ring Neighbors App, by Michael Thompson
- Registry of Approved Standards Adds Two New 3D Firearm Analysis Standards, by Casey Bastian
- FBI Heist Made Public, by Jayson Hawkins
- New San Francisco Ordinance Allows Police to Access Private Security Cameras, by Kevin Bliss
- Cruel and Unusual: Residency Restrictions Force Registrant to Die Among Strangers, by Eike Blohm, MD
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible, Oct. 1, 2026
- Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026
- California Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-Circumstances Framework Focused on Defendant’s Subjective Understanding Under § 1473.7(a)(1), Holding Immigration Consequences Advisement Is Relevant but Not Dispositive, Oct. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Conflicting Affidavits About Plea Acceptance Require Evidentiary Hearing on Ineffective-Assistance Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Vacates Award of Costs to Prison Officials, Revives Prisoner’s Claim Alleging Denial of Access to Functioning Toilets and Exposure to Other Prisoners’ Feces, Oct. 1, 2026
- Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions, Holding Requirement That Defendant Testify Before Displaying Hand Tattoos Violates Fifth Amendment, Sept. 1, 2026
- Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
- Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- California’s Use of Jailhouse Stings Comes Under Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026. Racial/Ethnic Bias/Profiling, False Confessions, After Request for Counsel, Coercive Interrogations, Confessions - Coerced.
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Good-Cause Standard Governing State Motions to Continue Based on Witness Unavailability, Aug. 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, Speedy Trial Clock - Tolling of, Periods of Delay, Excludable Time.
- Supreme Court of Maryland Holds Officer Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Based on Acquaintance’s Tip Reporting Innocent Conduct, Reaffirming That “High-Crime Area” Testimony Must Be Particularized, July 1, 2026. Traffic stop, Motions To Suppress, Informants and Paid Witnesses, Reasonable Suspicion, Terry Stops.
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Holds Trial Court Failed to Consider HAWJIC 3.19A Factors and “Effect of Suggestiveness on Reliability” When Evaluating Field Show-Up Identifications, July 1, 2026. witness misidentification, Motions To Suppress, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Suppression of Identity Evidence, Eyewitness Identification.
- California Court of Appeal: Vehicle Impoundment Solely to Prevent Further Unlicensed Driving Does Not Satisfy Fourth Amendment’s Community Caretaking Exception; Statutory Authorization Alone Insufficient to Establish Constitutional Reasonableness, June 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Motions To Suppress, Searches - Inventory, Community Caretaking Exception/Doctrine, Seizure.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Framework for Evaluating Delayed Traffic Stops Under Article 14, Holding 24-Hour Gap Between Observed Infraction and Vehicle Stop Was Unreasonable, June 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, State Constitutional Claims, Seizure, Pretextual Stops, Traffic Stops.
- Fourth Circuit Holds Officer’s Firearms Questioning at Outset of Traffic Stop Exceeded Permissible Scope Where Officer Abandoned Stop’s Purpose From Inception and Totality of Circumstances Did Not Support Officer-Safety Justification, May 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, Reasonable Suspicion, Traffic Stops, Suppression, Scope of Permissible Searches.
- Fifth Circuit Announces Long Vehicle Protective-Search Exception Requires Contemporaneous Facts Demonstrating Third Party’s Potential Dangerousness Before Warrantless Vehicle Search Is Permissible, March 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Exception to Warrant Requirement, Motions To Suppress, Searches - Automobile, Reasonable Suspicion.
- Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Police Officer’s Observation of Driver Manipulating Cellphone Screen Does Not, Without Additional Facts, Establish Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Under Fourth Amendment, Feb. 1, 2026. Cell-Phones, Motions To Suppress, Reasonable Suspicion, Traffic Stops, Terry Stops.
- SCOTUS Clarifies Emergency-Aid Home Entries Require Only an “Objectively Reasonable Basis for Believing” an Occupant Faces Serious Danger, Rejecting a Probable-Cause Standard and Montana’s Terry-Like Caretaker Test, Feb. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Probable Cause, Exigent Circumstances, Warrantless Searches, Motions To Suppress.





