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Article • February 1, 2026 • from CLN March, 2026
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 by Douglas Ankney by Doug Ankney The Supreme Court of Maryland held that police officers lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop …
Idaho Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search of Civilly Committed Individual Violates Fourth Amendment by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Idaho held that the warrantless search of a patient who was in civil protective custody violated the Fourth Amendment because …
Michigan Supreme Court Announces Smell of Marijuana Alone Is No Longer Sufficient to Establish Probable Cause to Search Vehicle by Sagi Schwartzberg by Sagi Schwartzberg The Supreme Court of Michigan held that the smell of marijuana, by itself, does not establish probable cause to search a motor vehicle. In doing …
DHS Has Been Quietly Collecting DNA From U.S. Citizens for Years, Funneling It Into FBI’s CODIS Without Oversight by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is facing scrutiny over its unauthorized practice of harvesting DNA from nearly 2,000 U.S. citizens, including children, and …
Third Circuit: No ‘Constructive Possession’ of Firearm Discovered in Trunk of Vehicle Six Months After Defendant’s Arrest, During Which Time He Was Incarcerated and Vehicle Impounded in Tow Lot Whose Sole Security Feature Was a Locked Gate by Sagi Schwartzberg The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit …
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Rhode Island Supreme Court: Officer Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Terry Stop Based on Unsubstantiated, Anonymous Tip by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Rhode Island held that a police officer lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigative search where the initial detention was based on an unsubstantiated, …
Article • November 1, 2024 • from CLN November, 2024
Filed under: Traffic Stops, Terry Stops
Wisconsin Supreme Court: Officer Violated Fourth Amendment by Exceeding Scope of Community Caretaking Function During Traffic Stop by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Wisconsin held that a police officer exceeded the proper bounds of the community caretaking function exception to the Fourth Amendment during the course …
California Court of Appeal Announces Correct Legal Standard for Whether Dismissal of Sentence Enhancement Would ‘Endanger Public Safety’ Under § 1385(c)(2) Is Dangerousness at Time of Future Release, Not at Time of Resentencing Under SB 1393 by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate …
SCOTUS Announces Existence of Probable Cause for One Charge in Criminal Proceeding Does Not Categorically Defeat Fourth Amendment Malicious-Prosecution Claim Relating to Another Baseless Charge by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of the United States held that a Fourth Amendment malicious-­prosecution lawsuit may proceed where one or …
Article • August 1, 2024 • from CLN August, 2024
California Supreme Court: Presence in High Crime Area and Desire to Avoid Contact With Police Does Not Amount to Reasonable Suspicion Justifying Detention for Suspected Criminal Activity by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford “The body of America’s Fourth Amendment jurisprudence reflects the effort to strike a balance between the state’s …
Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Police Training on How to Violate Constitutional Rights by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso Until recently, police departments in New Jersey were covering expenses for their officers to attend training sessions conducted by Street Cop Training (“SCT”), an organization that encourages “a hypervigilant warrior …
Fourth Circuit: Walking Past Unoccupied Home With Bulging Pocket and Attempting to Evade Neighborhood Tipster Insufficient for Reasonable Suspicion to Seize and Search by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overruled the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West …
Article • March 16, 2023
It’s Time for Jaywalking Laws to Take a Hike by Kevin Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss The crime of jaywalking becomes more and more uncommon as communities across the nation push to have the charge decriminalized or abolished. Jaywalking is a term started around 1910-1920 as a means of denigrating …
Article • January 15, 2023 • from CLN February, 2023
Fifth Circuit: District Court Erred in Finding That a Fourth Amendment Stop Did Not Occur by Harold Hempstead by Harold Hempstead The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana erred in finding that a Fourth Amendment stop …
Article • December 15, 2022 • from CLN January, 2023
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Criminal Record Alone Does Not Justify Patfrisk, Gun Discovered in Waistband Suppressed by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld a Superior Court’s order granting a motion to suppress a firearm that was discovered during an unlawful patfrisk because the motorist’s …
Article • May 1, 2022 • from CLN May, 2022
Kentucky Supreme Court: Officer’s History of Arresting Defendant on Multiple Occasions Constituted ‘Show of Authority’ That Defendant Was Not Free to Leave, Resulting in Unlawful Terry Stop by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso Supreme Court of Kentucky upheld the decision of a trial court that found a single officer …
Article • May 1, 2022 • from CLN May, 2022
LASD Defends Practice of Stopping Latino Bicyclists, Says People Using Bikes for Transportation Are Generally Criminals by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney According to data obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (“LASD”) is targeting Latino bicyclists with pretextual stops. Since the bicyclists are on their …
Article • March 15, 2022 • from CLN April, 2022
Search Your Constitution in Vain for the Fourth Amendment—the DOJ Seized It (Stealthily) by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Over the past couple of decades, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and its components have been requesting and receiving data from electronic media service providers, utilizing warrants, subpoenas, and National Security …
Article • December 15, 2021 • from CLN January, 2022
Fourth Circuit: Long-Term Aerial Surveillance That Reveals ‘Whole of Individuals’ Movements’ Constitutes Search Without a Warrant, Violates Fourth Amendment by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On rehearing en banc, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that the Aerial Investigation Research (“AIR”) program—a first of its kind …
Article • October 15, 2021 • from CLN November, 2021
NYC’s Stop-and-Frisk Still Targets Based on Race by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins New York City’s 2021 mayoral candidates faced the same issues that plague every metropolitan area—crime, COVID, climate change—but questions about the city’s allegedly reformed “stop-and-frisk” policy occupied a prominent place in the debates. The practice, which began …
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