Maryland explains pretextual stop law

After an elaborate discussion of probable cause and pretextual stops, the court concludes that a stop based on illegal window tinting can [and must] be permitted on the officer’s own observations of whether the tinting is too dark. State v. Arvel, 401 Md. 676, 934 A.2d 38 (2007) (This case has an excellent discussion of pretextual stop law, but the case is not on the Maryland court’s website as of the time of this post; if you have a pretextual stop case, at least read this case for a good overview; click on the link, and it should be posted shortly.).

Plaintiff’s arrest by an Iowa National Guardsman during the post-Katrina evacuation was not an action by the NOLA PD, so he could not maintain an action against the police. Terry v. City of New Orleans, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77645 (E.D. La. October 17, 2007).*

The affidavit for the search for child porn was based on probable cause [the question was not even close]. Commonwealth v. Kenney, 449 Mass. 840, 874 N.E.2d 1089 (2007).*