Monthly Archives: May 2022

CNN: Supreme Court leak investigation heats up as clerks are asked for phone records in unprecedented move

CNN: Exclusive: Supreme Court leak investigation heats up as clerks are asked for phone records in unprecedented move by Joan Biskupic (“Supreme Court officials are escalating their search for the source of the leaked draft opinion that would overturn Roe … Continue reading

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CA8: “[T]asing … constituted a warrantless arrest”

“Anderson’s tasing of Nyah constituted a warrantless arrest.” “Here, Anderson had probable cause to arrest Nyah.” United States v. Nyah, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 14609 (8th Cir. May 27, 2022). There was reasonable suspicion for the stop and defendant validly … Continue reading

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OK: Exclusionary rule applies in civil cases under state constitution

The exclusionary rule applies to Oklahoma City’s effort to enforce a warrantless entry to seize and forfeit birds in apparent distress. Oklahoma applies the exclusionary rule in most civil cases under its state constitutional provision against unreasonable searches. There was … Continue reading

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N.D.N.Y.: Younger doctrine bars suit against state AG investigation’s subpoena

Plaintiffs’ claims that various constitutional rights were infringed by the state Attorney General’s alleged politically motivated investigation are barred by the Younger doctrine. As to the Fourth Amendment claim, it was directed at subpoenas. Trump v. James, 2022 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading

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Cal.1: Superior Court improperly dismissed pretextual stop claim under California Racial Justice Act of 2020

Defendant here gets reconsideration of his discovery request over an alleged pretextual stop under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 (Stats. 2020, ch. 317, § 1). He gets over the threshold for a preliminary showing. The trial court impermissibly … Continue reading

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C.D.Cal. orders state court to unseal SW papers that led to federal prosecution

For some reason, the federal government and defendant do not have the state search warrant in this case after it indicted defendants. So, “The Court ORDERS the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County to unseal state search warrant No. … Continue reading

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NYTimes: A Face Search Engine Anyone Can Use Is Alarmingly Accurate

NYTimes: A Face Search Engine Anyone Can Use Is Alarmingly Accurate (“PimEyes is a paid service that finds photos of a person from across the internet, including some the person may not want exposed.”)

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TX13: Gated community not curtilage, but def’s own curtilage was violated

Where the officers followed defendant into a gated community, the roadway within was not curtilage. Evans v. State, 995 S.W.2d 284, 286 (Tex. App.—Houston (14th Dist.) 1999, pet. ref’d). However, the entry into defendant’s own curtilage was unreasonable. State v. … Continue reading

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D.Minn.: Alleged alibi wasn’t enough for Franks challenge here

Defendant wasn’t entitled to a Franks hearing by attempting to show that he had an alibi for only one controlled buy at issue, which wasn’t quite good enough anyway for probable cause. United States v. Washington, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading

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VA: Police call to medical emergency developed into invalid consent for drug search

Police responded to a medical emergency and it turned into a narcotics investigation without reasonable suspicion. Defendant’s consent when surrounded by three police officers, one of whom thought it was a narcotics stop, was involuntary and the consent is suppressed. … Continue reading

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MT: Welfare check of car was reasonable, but extending it was without RS

The officer was justified in a welfare check of defendant sleeping in his car, but it never developed into reasonable suspicion. The stop was unreasonably extended. State v. Zeimer, 2022 MT 96, 2022 Mont. LEXIS 479 (May 24, 2022). A … Continue reading

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OH12: Dog alert on car and def’s person didn’t justify strip search

There was reasonable suspicion for and continuing defendant’s stop. A dog sniff was permitted. The dog’s alert, however, didn’t permit a strip search of defendant. It did permit a search of the person. State v. Owensby, 2022-Ohio-1702, 2022 Ohio App. … Continue reading

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ID: Not unreasonable to check wants and warrants on passenger during a traffic stop

“This appeal arises out of a traffic stop where a single officer, without having reasonable suspicion that a crime involving the passenger was afoot, checked the passenger for outstanding warrants. The officer used her patrol vehicle’s computer and received a … Continue reading

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CA6: A minimal showing of nexus is enough for GFE even where PC is lacking

The affidavit failed to show probable cause. There was a minimal showing of nexus. That’s enough here for the good faith exception. United States v. Helton, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 13943 (6th Cir. May 24, 2022):

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CA9: Mandated GPS tracking of e-scooters not 4A violation

The City of Los Angeles e-scooter ordinance requires the scooters to have GPS and provide real time tracking information. This is classic third-party data, and there is no reasonable expectation of privacy of scooter users in that information. Sanchez v. … Continue reading

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MI directs its CoA to consider application of exclusionary rule in zoning case

The Michigan Supreme Court remanded Long Lake Twp. v. Maxon, 2021 Mich. App. LEXIS 1819 (Mar. 18, 2021) (posted here) to determine below whether the exclusionary rule should apply in a zoning case. Long Lake Twp. v. Maxon, 2022 Mich. … Continue reading

Posted in Exclusionary rule, Mail and packages, Prison and jail searches, Reasonable suspicion, Subpoenas / Nat'l Security Letters | Comments Off on MI directs its CoA to consider application of exclusionary rule in zoning case

E.D.Cal.: Inmate has no standing in a contraband cell phone

A person in prison has no standing to contest a wiretap on a contraband cell phone. United States v. Yandell, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91166 (E.D.Cal. May 20, 2022). “The facts of this case indicate that [Officer] Leitzen, while conducting … Continue reading

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D.Idaho: Broad conclusory motions to suppress should be summarily denied

Broad conclusory motions to suppress should be summarily denied. “The Government and the Court had no warning that Munguia-Lopez was going to challenge his own stop at the hearing. This Court does not look favorably on counsel filing motions with … Continue reading

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E.D.Mich.: Def had standing in his brother’s garage where only they had keys and it was used for business purposes

The warrantless search of defendant’s brother’s garage where both had keys and defendant kept things from their construction business was unreasonable. Defendant had standing because it was used for business purposes, and he did not have to spend the night … Continue reading

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RI: Commercial fishing is a “closely regulated industry” and a vessel’s monitoring system could be examined

Commercial fishing is a closely regulated industry. “Appellant also had a sea scallop permit, requiring the vessel to have a vessel monitoring system (VMS), which transmits global positioning system (GPS) coordinates every half hour to the National Marine Fisheries Service.” … Continue reading

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