Monthly Archives: December 2017

D.Md.: A SW for cell phone data going to Verizon in FL was within the court’s jurisdiction

Where the crime under investigation is in this district, it doesn’t matter that the search warrant for geolocation data from defendant’s cell phone is located in another district. The government can still get it by search warrant under Rule 41(b) … Continue reading

Posted in Cell site location information, F.R.Crim.P. 41, Warrant execution | Comments Off on D.Md.: A SW for cell phone data going to Verizon in FL was within the court’s jurisdiction

CA10: Scope of consent to search has to be raised in the trial court

The issue of scope of a consent search has to be presented to the trial court to be preserved. This wasn’t. United States v. Vargas, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 26869 (10th Cir. Dec. 28, 2017). There is no right to … Continue reading

Posted in Burden of pleading, Burden of proof, Scope of search | Comments Off on CA10: Scope of consent to search has to be raised in the trial court

M.D.Ala.: Conclusorily pleading a Franks violation isn’t a sufficient offer of proof

Defendant fails in his Franks argument for a failure of an offer of proof. Merely conclusorily stating the issue isn’t enough. There has to be context and how it was knowingly false. United States v. Martin, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading

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CA10: Smell of MJ authorizes search for MJ, not looking at multiple credit cards

An anonymous caller said defendant was smoking marijuana on his car. This was reasonable suspicion at best. Assuming the smell of marijuana provides probable cause to search, the search was for marijuana, and inspecting credit cards unreasonably expanded the search. … Continue reading

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ID: Failure to repeat “computer” in SW for things to be seized wasn’t a violation of 4A; CA7 typo in LPN can be overlooked

The preamble of the search warrant listed a bunch of digital things to search for and seize but the specific search clause didn’t include “computer.” The search warrant as a whole included computers, and defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not … Continue reading

Posted in Burden of pleading, Computer and cloud searches, Warrant requirement | Comments Off on ID: Failure to repeat “computer” in SW for things to be seized wasn’t a violation of 4A; CA7 typo in LPN can be overlooked

KS: PBT is a search subject to 4A

PBT is a search subject to the Fourth Amendment. State v. Robinson, 2017 Kan. App. LEXIS 89 (Dec. 22, 2017):

Posted in Drug or alcohol testing | Comments Off on KS: PBT is a search subject to 4A

OH10: State law requirement of preserving additional testimony to get SW not violation of 4A; complete failure of PC means no GFE; the state has no 4A rights

Prior holding on complete failure of probable cause wasn’t cross-appealed by the state and remains law of the case. Ohio’s Rule 41 that includes that additional testimony besides the affidavit has to be transcribed and made part of the record … Continue reading

Posted in Good faith exception, Probable cause | Comments Off on OH10: State law requirement of preserving additional testimony to get SW not violation of 4A; complete failure of PC means no GFE; the state has no 4A rights

D.Kan.: Driving unlicensed vehicle not ground for search under search incident or automobile exception

Driving an allegedly unlicensed vehicle doesn’t support a search incident for paperwork on the vehicle. The automobile exception didn’t support a search either because there was no probable cause. After defendant was handcuffed and away from the vehicle, a Long … Continue reading

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WaPo: A police officer fatally shot a man while responding to an emergency call now called a ‘swatting’ prank

WaPo: A police officer fatally shot a man while responding to an emergency call now called a ‘swatting’ prank by Eli Rosenberg and Herman Wong

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NYLJ: Admissibility of Expert Testimony on Police Use of Force | and a video of the cross of one

NYLJ: Admissibility of Expert Testimony on Police Use of Force by Martin A. Schwartz:

Posted in Excessive force | Comments Off on NYLJ: Admissibility of Expert Testimony on Police Use of Force | and a video of the cross of one

WA: Shareholder or officer of closely held corp has no personal privacy interest in corporate records under state constitution

“Paul Chase, shareholder and principal officer of Red Leaf Construction Inc., appeals the trial court’s partial denial of his motion to suppress Red Leaf’s bank records. A commissioner of this court granted discretionary review. We consider, as a matter of … Continue reading

Posted in Reasonable expectation of privacy, Standing, State constitution | Comments Off on WA: Shareholder or officer of closely held corp has no personal privacy interest in corporate records under state constitution

NY4: Frisk for a parking violation was unreasonable; just because def going in back of police car not good enough

Defendant was frisked without an articulable safety justification for a parking violation, and it was based on the fact the officer was putting defendant in the back of the patrol car. That’s not good enough. Also, the search of defendant’s … Continue reading

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NY4: Man with a gun report led police within one minute to couple on street, and def abandoned gun

Police received a call of a man with a shotgun walking with a woman. Officers got there within a minute and saw a couple matching the description. No lights or siren were on. Defendant walked into a grassy area and … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Burden of pleading, Motion to suppress, Reasonable suspicion | Comments Off on NY4: Man with a gun report led police within one minute to couple on street, and def abandoned gun

Techdirt: Prosecutors Benefiting Most From Police Body Cameras [Well, duh!]

Techdirt: Prosecutors Benefiting Most From Police Body Cameras by Tim Cushing:

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VA: P2P file sharing to access CP wasn’t a trespass on the curtilage; def consented to entry into the computer

The officer’s actions in accessing defendant’s computer files by peer-to-peer file sharing did not constitute a trespass to his curtilage in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Defendant demonstrated his consensual participation in the file sharing community by installing file sharing … Continue reading

Posted in Computer and cloud searches, Curtilage, Trespass | Comments Off on VA: P2P file sharing to access CP wasn’t a trespass on the curtilage; def consented to entry into the computer

Lawfare: The Best Way to Rule for Carpenter (Or, How to Expand Fourth Amendment Protections Without Making A Mess)

Lawfare: The Best Way to Rule for Carpenter (Or, How to Expand Fourth Amendment Protections Without Making A Mess) by Orin Kerr:

Posted in Cell site location information, SCOTUS | Comments Off on Lawfare: The Best Way to Rule for Carpenter (Or, How to Expand Fourth Amendment Protections Without Making A Mess)

CA10: Officer’s firing gun at car fleeing after traffic stop wasn’t seizure; driver’s “momentary pause is not submission”

“Oriana Lee Farrell and her five children claim that Defendant Elias Montoya, while on duty as a New Mexico state police officer, violated their Fourth Amendment rights when he fired three shots at their minivan as it drove away from … Continue reading

Posted in Excessive force, Seizure | Comments Off on CA10: Officer’s firing gun at car fleeing after traffic stop wasn’t seizure; driver’s “momentary pause is not submission”

IN: Dog sniff by second officer who arrived right after stop was valid; RS not needed

Defendant was stopped for driving 63 in the fast lane of a freeway with a 70 speed limit, and the officer was only going to warn the driver about the dangers of driving too slow in the fast lane. The … Continue reading

Posted in Dog sniff | Comments Off on IN: Dog sniff by second officer who arrived right after stop was valid; RS not needed

ID: Patdown of a visitor at a probationer’s house during probation search requires RS, and here it was lacking

Finding it a close question, the patdown of a visitor during a probation search of the probationer’s house was unreasonable because there was no indication he was a problem or potentially violent. His demeanor was calm throughout for 17 minutes … Continue reading

Posted in Probation / Parole search | Comments Off on ID: Patdown of a visitor at a probationer’s house during probation search requires RS, and here it was lacking

D.Minn.: No REP in inmate calls of civilly committed sexual psychopath

Defendant was civilly committed as a sexual psychopathic person. It has been held that such inmates have the same rights as a pretrial detainee. Beaulieu v. Ludeman, 690 F.3d 1017, 1028 (8th Cir. 2012). Here, defendant signed a notice of … Continue reading

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