Monthly Archives: January 2015

CA6: A rare § 2254 reversal: defense counsel ineffective for not pursuing a clearly winnable Fourth Amendment claim; state court findings unreasonable under AEDPA

In a rare § 2254 reversal, the Sixth Circuit finds defense counsel ineffective for not pursuing a clearly winnable Fourth Amendment claim, and the state court findings were unreasonable under AEDPA. Grumbley v. Burt, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 1429 (6th … Continue reading

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OH9: One day delay in getting cell phone SW after exigent based seizure not unreasonable

Police seized defendant’s phone because of suspected child pornography on it. The warrant to search the phone was not issued until the following day. Defendant cites no authority that a one day delay was unreasonable. State v. Welch, 2015-Ohio-284, 2015 … Continue reading

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IA: Riley applied to a cell phone search from 2010

Defendant’s cell phone was searched in 2010, well before Riley, but a motion to suppress was filed and denied pre-Riley. The state concedes on appeal that Riley controls and attempts to get the contents of the phone in under exigent … Continue reading

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S.D.N.Y.: Screen chat service that passed information to NCMEC was still a private actor

Screen chat service that passed information to NCMEC was still a private actor. United States v. Ditomasso, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9645 (S.D.N.Y. January 26, 2015): On October 28, 2014, I ruled that DiTomasso had a reasonable expectation of privacy … Continue reading

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D.S.D.: Def arrested and handcuffed after hot pursuit into house still justified sweep for his gun

The initial entry into defendant’s home was justified by hot pursuit, but other officers followed after the detention, and a protective sweep was conducted. Because it was reasonably feared defendant was armed and the gun hadn’t been located, a sweep … Continue reading

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WaPo: Google says it fought gag orders in WikiLeaks case

WaPo: Google says it fought gag orders in WikiLeaks case by Ellen Nakashima and Julie Tate: Google has fought all gag orders preventing it from telling customers that their e-mails and other data were sought by the U.S. government in … Continue reading

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NY Times: Drones Spotted, but Not Halted, Raise Concerns

NY Times: Drones Spotted, but Not Halted, Raise Concerns by Michael S. Schmidt and Michael D. Shear: As Major League Baseball’s top players took the field at the All-Star Game in Minneapolis in July, a covert radar system scanned the … Continue reading

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D.Neb.: IP address associated with CP enough to search computers at address where IP used

“In the Eighth Circuit, for the purposes of determining whether probable cause exists to search a computer [for child pornography], an IP address assigned to a specific user at the time illegal internet activity associated with that IP address occurs … Continue reading

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D.V.I.: “Casing” the premises from the street as a prelude to a knock-and-talk does not violate the curtilage

“Casing” the premises from the street as a prelude to a knock-and-talk does not violate the curtilage. United States v. Lubrin, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9682 (D.V.I. January 28, 2015). The officer had reasonable suspicion to continue the detention on … Continue reading

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CA11: Ptf’s motorcycle crash fleeing police was not excessive force

Plaintiff led officers on a high-speed chase on a motorcycle through two counties, at times reaching 110 mph. In a city, “[i]ndeed, the video shows that he covered the 4.8 miles between the intersections of Z-Horse Charters and South East … Continue reading

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WaPo: The Watch: Fairfax police stage a SWAT raid on poker players

WaPo: The Watch: Fairfax police stage a SWAT raid on poker players by Radley Balko: Playing cards could be dangerous. Better just stick to the lottery.

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CA7: Ptfs adequately pled that officers searched house without consent from 14 year old

At the pleading stage, plaintiffs adequately pled that officers told a 14 girl that they had to search the house, she ran upstairs with her brother, and the officers did so without a warrant. There is no consent on the … Continue reading

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CA5: Unsolicited consent to search cell phone dissipated taint of unlawful detention

Even assuming, without deciding, a constitutional violation in the length of defendant’s detention, his unsolicited offer to have the police search his cell phone dissipated any taint and attenuated the cell phone search from the detention. United States v. Montgomery, … Continue reading

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CA7: Detention of a minor based on a report from a friend she was suicidal was reasonable

This minor’s § 1983 suit alleges a Fourth Amendment violation when she was taken to a hospital and subjected to a mental health examination based a report from a school friend that she had attempted to kill herself. The police … Continue reading

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N.D.Iowa: Fourth Amendment doesn’t require that driver be given option to call somebody to get car

This inventory was shown to be valid despite the argument that defendant’s wife could have been called to get the car. No Fourth Amendment case says that’s a requirement. United States v. Crane, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8448 (N.D. Iowa … Continue reading

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The Hill: Senators resurrect bill to require a warrant for email searches

The Hill: Senators resurrect bill to require a warrant for email searches by Mario Trujillo Sens. Patrick Leahy and Mike Lee plan to re-introduce legislation in the “coming weeks.”

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Center for Democracy and Technology: Data Privacy Day: A Reminder of the Need to Update ECPA

Center for Democracy and Technology: Data Privacy Day: A Reminder of the Need to Update ECPA by Chris Calabrese: For years CDT has been leading the charge to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the law that governs how … Continue reading

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Roll Call: How Congress Can Protect Americans’ Email Privacy | Commentary

Roll Call: How Congress Can Protect Americans’ Email Privacy | Commentary by Gabe Rottman and Katie McAuliffe: Did you lock your front door when you left for work this morning? Rest easy, then, knowing your papers are secure. But what … Continue reading

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D.N.M.: Michigan v. Summers applies to homes, not businesses

ICE raided and executed a search warrant on Soccer City in Albuquerque because of suspicion the operators were selling fake IDs. Defendant walked in carrying a box and he was accosted by the ICE agents and asked for his ID, … Continue reading

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The New Yorker: Letter from Albuquerque: Your Son Is Deceased

The New Yorker: Letter from Albuquerque: Your Son Is Deceased by Rachel Aviv: The city has one of the highest rates in the country of fatal shootings by police, but no officer has been indicted.

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