Psychology Today: Legal Reasonable Suspicion Rests on Unreasonable Assumptions

Psychology Today: Legal Reasonable Suspicion Rests on Unreasonable Assumptions by Melissa Anderson & Cynthia J. Najdowski (“Stereotypes about people of color may be limiting Fourth Amendment protections.”):

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OH4: When officer couldn’t find source of strong smell of MJ, he could search again under 4A

The officer encountered a strong smell of marijuana and searched the car for it coming up “empty.” He reviewed the video in the car and searched again. This one continuous effort and separate justification wasn’t needed. Suppression order reversed. State v. Farrow, 2023-Ohio-682, 2023 Ohio App. LEXIS 653 (4th Dist. Mar. 1, 2023).

Considering the totality, defendant was not in custody for Miranda purposes when he made the challenged statement. People v. Willoughby, 2023 CO 10, 2023 Colo. LEXIS 200 (Mar. 6, 2023).*

“Inmates do retain limited protection under the Fourth Amendment from unreasonable strip searches and degrading body cavity searches. … However, Mr. Logan does not allege that the officers strip-searched him or conducted a body cavity search that was unduly degrading. Indeed, there are no allegations from which the court can plausibly infer that the officers touched him, searched his person, or directed him to do anything. As far as the complaint reveals, they simply conducted a search of his cell and moved on. This is not the type of situation that would trigger Fourth Amendment concerns in the correctional context.” Logan v. Schroder, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36641 (N.D. Ind. Mar. 6, 2023).*

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MA: Crack pipe seen in plain view of passenger compartment justifies search of whole car

“The question presented by this appeal is whether a State trooper’s plain view observation of a used crack pipe in a motor vehicle provides probable cause for a warrantless search of the entire vehicle for contraband drugs. Concluding that it does, we reverse the order of the Superior Court judge suppressing evidence of drugs found in a vehicle in which the defendant was traveling as a back seat passenger.” Commonwealth v. Torres, 2023 Mass. App. LEXIS 37 (Mar. 6, 2023).*

There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in what a police officer does on the street. Videos they record can be released by the D.C. government. FOP Metro. Police Dep’t Labor Comm. v. District of Columbia, 2023 D.C. App. LEXIS 59 (Mar. 2, 2023).

In an otherwise consensual encounter, defendant’s admission he was armed with a knife justified a patdown for it. United States v. Dazen, 2023 Dist. LEXIS 35926 (D. Ariz. Mar. 3, 2023).*

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W.D.Ky.: SW for car in impound four months after seizure based on jail call was not stale; no realistic chance of change in condition

After a jail call, the police decided to get a search warrant for defendant’s car in impound for four months for drugs in the engine compartment which had been in impound. The warrant wasn’t stale because the information was just learned, and there was no reason to believe the stuff still wasn’t there. United States v. Tarter, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34819 (W.D. Ky. Mar. 2, 2023).

The search warrant for child pornography was not stale. Defendant’s daughter reported to the police he took photographs of her years before when they lived in North Carolina. The warrant was not stale because the subject of the search, by its nature, was not consumable and was likely to be kept. United States v. Ebert, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 5185 (4th Cir. Mar. 3, 2023).*

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What we think of our reasonable expectation of privacy in cell phones

U.Chi. School of Law: The Myth of Fourth Amendment Circularity by Matthew B. Kugler & Lior Jacob Strahilevitz:

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KS: Excessive force in unnecessary stop by PIT maneuver led to death of passenger which is suppressed

Defendant refused to stop for a broken windshield infraction, and he fled. The officer PITted his car, and the passenger died. Defendant was charged with murder for the passenger’s death. The trial court held that the seizure resulting in the death was unreasonable, and that finding is supported by the record. The exclusionary rule is applied because there is a causal connection between the use of excessive force and the passenger’s death. State v. Cline, 2023 Kan. App. LEXIS 8 (Mar. 3, 2023):

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OH6: Officer coming to front door to knock who pauses to listen to voices inside doesn’t violate 4A

On a DV call, the officer approached the front door of defendant’s house to knock, but he paused to listen to voices inside. That listening before knocking was not an unreasonable search. State v. Kunkle, 2023-Ohio-661, 2023 Ohio App. LEXIS 624 (6th Dist. Mar. 3, 2023).

“Here, in his pretrial motion, Adorno claimed that the search of his apartment ‘was based upon materially false information that was contained in the Affidavit of Probable Cause.’ Omnibus Pretrial Motion, at ¶ 5. However, he did not claim that Officer Petrucci made deliberately false statements or made statements with a reckless disregard for the truth. Furthermore, Adorno did not make an offer of proof of such. Therefore, the court erred in granting Adorno’s suppression motion. … We therefore reverse the order granting Adorno’s suppression motion.” Commonwealth v. Adorno, 2023 PA Super 34, 2023 Pa. Super. LEXIS 78 (Mar. 3, 2023).*

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ADG: Little Rock police moving into second phase of real-time crime center integrating citizen video feeds

Ark. Dem.-Gaz.: Little Rock police moving into second phase of real-time crime center by Grant Lancaster (new LRPD HQ “Crime Center will use cameras of residents” feeding into central video database). Networking video surveillance and doorbell cams. If we are here, so are others. This is maybe just the first publicity of it.

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CA7: Target of SW doesn’t have to be suspected of crime

A target of a search warrant does not have to be suspected of a crime. A holder of “mere evidence” can be subjected to a search warrant. United States v. Roland, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 4987 (7th Cir. Mar. 1, 2023).

The record supported the district court’s finding that the officer smelled marijuana and that was reason to continue the stop. United States v. Conley, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 5120 (5th Cir. Mar. 2, 2023).*

The district court’s determination of the credibility of officer on the basis for the stop is unassailable on appeal. United States v. Rutledge, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 5156 (8th Cir. Mar. 3, 2023).*

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CA9: “Clearly established law” in one sentence

“Cardenas has not identified any case holding that police officers violated the Fourth Amendment by making an arrest under similar circumstances, and we are not aware of any such case.” Cardenas v. Saladen, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 5091 (9th Cir. Mar. 2, 2023).

Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging defendant’s stop for speeding 130 mph. State v. Tatum, 2023-Ohio-629 (5th Dist. March 1, 2023).*

One officer wrote the search warrant affidavit off information provided by others with actual knowledge. There were some minor mistakes. “Defendant has not shown Detective Spencer included the inaccuracy in the search warrant affidavit recklessly or intentionally. Second, Defendant has not shown that the Government would lack probable cause if all inaccuracies were excised from affidavit.” United States v. Smoot, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34604 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 1, 2023).*

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Even burner phones can be sometimes traced

Detroit News: Woman guilty in threats case after 2020 presidential election by Robert Snell:

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D.Me.: CI adequately shown credible enough for PC

There’s no sufficient basis for a hearing on the credibility of the CI because it’s adequately shown he’s credible enough. Moreover, he also doesn’t get a hearing just to cross the CI. United States v. Botello, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33686 (D. Me. Mar. 1, 2023)*:

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M.D.Pa.: SW for cash derived from drug sales was particular enough

The search warrant for U.S. currency derived from illegal drug sales was sufficiently particular as to the warrant for defendant’s house. United States v. Jones, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33429 (M.D. Pa. Feb. 28, 2023).

The CSLI warrant here was valid because defendant was a fugitive, and that was cause to locate him. United States v. Jackson, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33944 (E.D. Mo. Mar. 1, 2023).

“The Court agrees with the Government that there was at least a colorable argument for probable cause and that this application was otherwise made in good faith. … The Court agrees that the application did not contain ‘misleading’ statements. … Given all of the above, the Leon good-faith exception applies and precludes the relief requested in this Motion.” United States v. Jordan, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34281 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 1, 2023).*

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Wired: Face Recognition Software Led to His Arrest. It Was Dead Wrong

Wired; Face Recognition Software Led to His Arrest. It Was Dead Wrong (“Alonzo Sawyer’s misidentification by algorithm made him a suspect for a crime police now say was committed by someone else—feeding debate over regulation.”)

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S.D.Tex.: USMJ approves geofence warrant for 1.01 acre of area of crime

Geofence warrant to Google was reasonable and sufficiently particular and nonintrusive. In re Search of Info. That Is Stored At Premises Controlled By Google, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33651 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 14, 2023):

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CA9: Two questions about weapons in car was for officer safety and not unreasonable

Twice asking defendant during a traffic stop about weapons was not minimally burdensome and not unreasonable when defendant had prior for weapons. United States v. Taylor, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 4954 (9th Cir. Mar. 1, 2023):

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DE: State failed in burden of proof on basis for stop

The state put on nothing at the suppression hearing to show that the stop was justified. Suppressed. State v. Skinner, 2023 Del. Super. LEXIS 96 (Feb. 10, 2023):*

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E.D.Ky.: Failure to cross-examine at trial on some contradictions from SW affidavit was not IAC

Defendant’s 2255 ineffective assistance of counsel claim in part challenged defense counsel’s failure to cross-examine over contradictions in a search warrant affidavit by the witness. The government doesn’t address this, and assuming it was defective performance, the court finds a lack of prejudice on the case as a whole. Crossing on that wouldn’t have mattered considering the officer’s role in the case and other testimony. United States v. Duerson, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32790 (E.D. Ky. Feb. 2, 2023).

Even if there was no probable cause for a search of the person, a frisk would have occurred so inevitable discovery applies. United States v. Williams, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 4949 (9th Cir. Mar. 1, 2023).*

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WI: REP in apt building’s storage room def shared with another that she put the lock on

Defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in an apartment’s basement storage room that was shared with another but which defendant put a padlock on. State v. Eder, 2023 Wisc. App. LEXIS 207 (Feb. 28, 2023).

There was probable cause and exigency for an automobile exception search, and inventory would apply even if the automobile exception didn’t. United States v. Hemphill, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32729 (W.D. Tex. Feb. 27, 2023).*

The officer’s stop of defendant for aftermarket lighting on the car that the officer thought violated state law was based on a reasonable mistake of law. Denial of suppression affirmed. State v. Johnson, 2023 MT 36N, 2023 Mont. LEXIS 266 (Feb. 28, 2023).*

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CA10: No fixed time to write the ticket under Rodriguez

The traffic stop was justified, and the district court was correct in holding what happened during the ticket writing phase didn’t deviate from the primary mission of the stop. There’s no fixed rule on the amount of time it could take. The officer testified it could be as little as seven minutes or as much as an hour. It depends. United States v. Lara, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 4888 (10th Cir. Feb. 27, 2023):

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