Daily Archives: August 17, 2014

When did this …

(Frankly, all I can think about is what Freud would say about these things.)

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New law review article on drones as “searches”

Joel Celso, Comment: Droning on about the Fourth Amendment: Adopting a Reasonable Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence to Prevent Unreasonable Searches by Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 43 U. Balt. L. Rev. 461 (2014). Introduction:

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TX4: Anonymous tip of a minor city code violation didn’t support stop, so consent invalid

An anonymous tip that defendant was selling stuff from her car allegedly without a proper city permit didn’t justify defendant’s stop. Her subsequent consent was invalid. Pineda v. State, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 8824 (Tex. App. – San Antonio August … Continue reading

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W.D.Pa.: Home surveillance system recordings were target of SW, and staleness wasn’t a valid objection

Age alone doesn’t determine staleness; it’s the totality. Here, defendant provided an alibi to a murder and the police learned he had a surveillance system at home. It was reasonable to conclude that evidence would still be found by the … Continue reading

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N.D.W.Va.: Navarette doesn’t save this anonymous tip; seemingly even undermines it

The anonymous tip here that there would be a gun in the car defendant was in was not supported by objective facts of any sort. This was not a 911 call report, either, as in Navarette, and the court just … Continue reading

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TX13: Fleeing from the police and crashing is not a “stop”

Defendant challenged his stop as unlawful, but he slowed for a second and then fled at high speed until he crashed and then he was arrested. There was no stop–he fled. Gonzalez v. State, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 8934 (Tex. … Continue reading

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NYTimes: The Scary, the Sad, and the Just Plain Bizarre

NYTimes: The Scary, the Sad, and the Just Plain Bizarre by Serge Schmenmann. Re: Ferguson, MO: A psychiatrist once told me that people tend to focus more on bad news because human beings are genetically wired to identify dangers they … Continue reading

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IA: Plain feel of baggie of marijuana was obvious to officer

Plain feel supported reaching in defendant’s pocket to remove marijuana during a frisk. In the officer’s experience, he knew exactly what a baggie of marijuana felt like. State v. Carey, 2014 Iowa App. LEXIS 807 (August 13, 2014). Defendant’s girlfriend … Continue reading

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CA7: A defendant violating parole doesn’t lack all standing just because he crosses a state line violating his parole

A defendant violating parole doesn’t lack all standing just because he crosses a state line violating his parole. United States v. Walton, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 15570 (7th Cir. August 13, 2014):

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