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News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2025 • from CLN June, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On March 31, 2025, in State of Alabama v. Mac Marquette, Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott denied former Decatur Police Department officer Marquette’s motion for self-defense immunity in the fatal shooting of Steve Perkins. According to the Associate Press, the denial depended legally on …

Idaho Supreme Court Admitting Video of Child-Witness Interviews at Trial Violates Confrontation Clause

Article • June 15, 2024 • from CLN June, 2024

Filed under: Confrontation Clause/Rights, Video/Closed Circuit TV Testimony, Video Cameras, Crawford, Testimonial Statements

Idaho Supreme Court Admitting Video of Child-Witness Interviews at Trial Violates Confrontation Clause by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford   The Supreme Court of Idaho held that a trial court violated a defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights by admitting video recorded interviews of a child witness at his trial on charges …

Idaho Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ‘Primary Purpose’ Standard for Reviewing Police Decision to Impound Vehicles and Conduct Inventory Search to Prevent Pretextual Searches in Violation of Fourt...

Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024

Filed under: Searches - Inventory, Searches - Automobile, Pretextual Stops

Idaho Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ‘Primary Purpose’ Standard for Reviewing Police Decision to Impound Vehicles and Conduct Inventory Search to Prevent Pretextual Searches in Violation of Fourth Amendment by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Idaho overturned a district court’s denial of a defendant’s suppression …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2023 • from CLN August, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: The District Attorney for Los Angeles County, George Gascón, announced that a police officer in San Fernando was charged with theft. CBS News reported that the officer, Jeffrey King, 37, was handed charges on June 6, 2023, of misdemeanor petty theft, felony extortion, and felony …

News in Brief

Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: A former police officer with the LAPD, Paul Razo, 46, was arrested in early May 2023, accused of sexually assaulting at least four minor boys over the course of more than a decade. Weeks after his arrest, Razo died of medical complications while in custody. …

Idaho Supreme Court: Confession Obtained in Violation of Miranda Inadmissible in State’s Case in Chief but May Be Used for Impeachment Purposes Where Defendant’s Will Was Not ‘Overborne’ During Interr...

Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023

Filed under: Impeachment Evidence/Purposes, Impeachment, Interrogation

Idaho Supreme Court: Confession Obtained in Violation of Miranda Inadmissible in State’s Case in Chief but May Be Used for Impeachment Purposes Where Defendant’s Will Was Not ‘Overborne’ During Interrogation by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Idaho held that a confession obtained in violation of Miranda …

News in Brief

Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by News in Brief Alabama: It was announced by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 20, 2023, that a police officer in Madison was arrested, accused of sexual misconduct. AL.com and WHNT in northern Alabama reported that the officer, Kevin Walter, 35, was arrested on Feb. …

Idaho Supreme Court: Drug-Detection Dog Conducted Warrantless Search by Placing Paws on Exterior of Vehicle to Sniff for Drugs

Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023

Filed under: Traffic stop, Drug-Sniffing Dog, Warrantless Searches

Idaho Supreme Court: Drug-Detection Dog Conducted Warrantless Search by Placing Paws on Exterior of Vehicle to Sniff for Drugs by Richard Resch by Richard Resch In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Idaho held that police conducted a warrantless search of a vehicle when a drug-detection dog …

News in Brief

Article • September 15, 2022 • from CLN October, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On August 4, 2022, the Vincent City Council voted to fully dissolve the city’s police force after racist text messages by a top officer were discovered, CNN reported. The city is home to about 2,000 residents and until the vote by the council, had just …

Idaho Supreme Court: Telephonic Testimony Violated Defendant’s Sixth Amendment Right to Confrontation

Article • June 15, 2022 • from CLN July, 2022

Filed under: Sixth Amendment, Confrontation Clause/Rights

Idaho Supreme Court: Telephonic Testimony Violated Defendant’s Sixth Amendment Right to Confrontation by David M. Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Idaho held that an expert’s telephonic testimony violated a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. The Court found the error was not harmless and remanded for …

Idaho Supreme Court Announces Prospectively Testimony by Drug Recognition Expert Requires State to Comply With Expert Witness Disclosure Requirements of Rule 16(b)(7)

Article • May 15, 2022 • from CLN June, 2022

Filed under: War on Drugs, Disclosure of Records, Eyewitness Testimony

Idaho Supreme Court Announces Prospectively Testimony by Drug Recognition Expert Requires State to Comply With Expert Witness Disclosure Requirements of Rule 16(b)(7) by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Idaho announced, “that henceforth, testimony from drug recognition expert requires the state to comply with the expert witness …

Idaho Supreme Court Rejects ‘Instinctive Entry Rule’ as Not Implicating Fourth Amendment Where Drug-Sniffing Dog Breaches Interior of Vehicle During Exterior Search and Suppresses Evidence

Article • February 15, 2022 • from CLN March, 2022

Filed under: Drug-Sniffing Dog, Warrantless Searches, Fourth Amendment

Idaho Supreme Court Rejects ‘Instinctive Entry Rule’ as Not Implicating Fourth Amendment Where Drug-Sniffing Dog Breaches Interior of Vehicle During Exterior Search and Suppresses Evidence by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Idaho rejected the “instinctive entry rule” as an exception to the warrant requirement where a …

Idaho Supreme Court Announces Whether a Container Is Located Inside or Outside Vehicle When Probable Cause Arises Determines if Container May Be Searched Under Automobile Exception, Joining Conclusion...

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: Vehicle Searches, Probable/Proximate Cause

Idaho Supreme Court Announces Whether a Container Is Located Inside or Outside Vehicle When Probable Cause Arises Determines if Container May Be Searched Under Automobile Exception, Joining Conclusion of Several Other States by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Idaho …

Idaho Supreme Court Declares Clarke Merely Memorialized Constitutional Principle That Warrantless Arrest for Misdemeanor Completed Outside Officer’s Presence Violates State Constitution and Applies to...

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: DUI, Warrantless Searches

Idaho Supreme Court Declares Clarke Merely Memorialized Constitutional Principle That Warrantless Arrest for Misdemeanor Completed Outside Officer’s Presence Violates State Constitution and Applies to Cases Prior to Clarke by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Idaho vacated Patricia Ann Amstutz’s conviction for misdemeanor driving under the influence …

News in Brief

Article • September 15, 2021 • from CLN October, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: After shooting more people than any other U.S. city or county police department in 2018, the Phoenix Police Department (PhxPD) will now be the subject of a “pattern and practice” (P&P) investigation announced on August 5, 2021, by the federal Department of Justice (DOJ), according …

News in Brief

Article • March 15, 2021 • from CLN April, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: A federal jury awarded a man who suffered severe head and face injuries in an encounter with a San Diego detective $1.5 million in November 2020. San Diego’s City Council, meanwhile, is expected to “approve a $2.5 million settlement, the money awarded by the jury …

Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Suit Challenging Idaho’s Sex Offender Registration Law

Article • February 15, 2021 • from CLN March, 2021

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration

Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Suit Challenging Idaho’s Sex Offender Registration Law by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s Sexual Offender Registration Notification and Community Right-to-Know …

Idaho Supreme Court Announces False Rape Allegations May Be Admitted Regardless of When Made

Article • October 15, 2020 • from CLN November, 2020

Filed under: Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Credibility of Declarant

Idaho Supreme Court Announces False Rape Allegations May Be Admitted Regardless of When Made by Anthony Accurso by Anthony Accurso The Supreme Court of Idaho clarified the rule of evidence regarding the admissibility of prior false allegations of rape made by victims, announced a three-part test to assess the admissibility …

Idaho Exoneree Fights for Wrongful Conviction Compensation

Article • July 15, 2020 • from CLN August, 2020

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction

Idaho Exoneree Fights for Wrongful Conviction Compensation by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Christopher Tapp of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was convicted of a murder and rape after 20-plus hours of interrogations over a three-week period in 1996. He was 19 at the time of his arrest. Despite being innocent of …

Idaho Supreme Court: Where Police Were Unaware of Probationer’s Fourth Amendment Waiver Until After Unreasonable Search, Waiver Won’t Make Search Reasonable

Article • January 21, 2020 • from CLN February, 2020

Filed under: Searches, Police, Fourth Amendment, rights

Idaho Supreme Court: Where Police Were Unaware of Probationer’s Fourth Amendment Waiver Until After Unreasonable Search, Waiver Won’t Make Search Reasonable by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Idaho ruled that when police were unaware of a probationer’s Fourth Amendment waiver until after an unreasonable search was …