D.Haw.: No constitutional right to an “adequate police investigation”

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Hall

There is no constitutional right to an “adequate police investigation.” Hawkes v. Katayama, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59452 (D. Haw. Mar. 19, 2026):

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Cal.4: Ordering def out of house to arrest at gunpoint on RS unreasonable

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Hall

Arresting defendant in his house but from outside with guns drawn and ordering him out on only reasonable suspicion was unreasonable. Where the arrestee is controls, not the officers. People v. Perez, 2026 Cal. App. LEXIS 176 (4th Dist. Mar. 20, 2026).

Defendant filed a motion to dismiss a state RICO indictment on five grounds, one of which was an invalid search. That’s not a valid ground to dismiss an indictment. People v. Nalty, 2026 Colo. App. LEXIS 356 (Mar. 12, 2026)* (unpublished).

Defendant only argues that the search was warrantless, but there was a warrant. He doesn’t argue lack of probable cause. United States v. Hill, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59509 (D. Neb. Mar. 19, 2026).*

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D.N.M.: Climbing over a locked gate to do a knock-and-talk violated curtilage, but QI applies

Posted on March 21, 2026 by Hall

Climbing over a locked gate to do a knock-and-talk violated curtilage, but qualified immunity applies because the law isn’t clearly established. Dotson v. Acord, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57749 (D.N.M. Mar. 19, 2026).

Plaintiff runs a wildlife rehab place, and state officer sought a warrant for a whitetail deer fawn. Getting to the premises, they saw other things that concerned them, so they returned to the magistrate and amended the affidavit but apparently not the warrant. No matter: the affidavit was present with the warrant and they are read together. Shook v. S.C. Dep’t of Nat. Res., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57811 (D.S.C. Jan. 29, 2026).

Defendant had the burden of showing a lack of a strategic basis for not challenging the search. People v. Mcennis, 2026 NY Slip Op 01635 (4th Dept. Mar. 20, 2026).*

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DE: Lack of binding authority for 5A cell phone thumbprint claim means it’s denied

Posted on March 21, 2026 by Hall

Trial counsel didn’t challenge the use of defendant’s thumbprint to access his cell phone, acknowledging case law against it being testimonial. “It does not appear that either this Court or the United States Supreme Court has addressed the issue. Nor has Riley cited any authority for the proposition that obtaining a suspect’s fingerprint violates the Fifth Amendment. In the absence of binding authority supporting his claim, Riley has not established deficient performance or prejudice as to this claim.” The search was otherwise challenged below. Riley v. State, 2026 Del. LEXIS 120 (Mar. 19, 2026).

2255 petitioner’s claim only that the CI was fabricated isn’t enough for a Franks challenge. Whitlow v. United States, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59018 (M.D. Ala. Mar. 20, 2026).

There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in an IP address information. United States v. Smajlovic, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59147 (E.D. Mo. Mar. 20, 2026).*

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Cal.6: Community caretaking function can’t apply just to keep unlicensed driver from driving

Posted on March 21, 2026 by Hall

“In this appeal, we examine the application of the Fourth Amendment’s community caretaking doctrine to vehicle impoundment. We consider whether a police officer’s decision to impound a driver’s vehicle pursuant to the Vehicle Code solely to prevent further illegal [unlicensed] driving satisfies the community caretaking function. We decide that it does not.” People v. Perez, 2026 Cal. App. LEXIS 169 (6th Dist. Mar. 19, 2026).

Police were called to an AutoZone for a car that was sitting outside running for three hours with no one in it. Police arrived and opened the door, making a plain view. This was within the community caretaking function. State v. Kiser, 2026-Ohio-952 (2d Dist. Mar. 20, 2026).*

Defendant occasionally borrowed his mother’s car when she let him because his was broken down. When it was stopped, he wasn’t even in it. He had no standing to challenge the search. Beside, her consent would do. State v. Manzano-Legarda, 2026 Kan. LEXIS 34 (Mar. 20, 2026).*

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DC: Officer’s unreasonable mistake of law did not make the stop reasonable under Heien

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Hall

The officer’s unreasonable mistake of law on windshield tint (“can’t have tint at all” v. it can have some) did not make the stop reasonable under Heien. Griffin v. United States, 2026 D.C. App. LEXIS 95 (Mar. 19, 2026).

Defendant’s nolo plea to a drug charge where the search also led to federal child pornography charges wasn’t issue preclusion in federal court, followed CA2 and CA10. United States v. Vorse, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57442 (D. Neb. Mar. 19, 2026).*

Officers knew and could see defendant fled into a house, and they could follow to arrest him. Versey v. Ebert, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57555 (E.D. Wis. Mar. 19, 2026).*

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MD: Waiting 20 days to get cell phone SW after seizure was reasonable here

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Hall

Police seized defendant’s cell phone and sought to have it examined. It went into the queue at the forensic unit, and, when it was ready to be searched, they then sought a warrant. They waited because they believed there was only a 10-day window after the warrant issued. The delay was reasonable given the explanation. Gambino v. State, 2026 Md. App. LEXIS 287 (Mar. 17, 2026).

A label-less distinctive promethazine bottle in plain view was at least reasonable suspicion. Here, however, coupled with defendant’s known propensity for drugs and violence, it was probable cause. People v. Cummings, 2026 Mich. App. LEXIS 2274 (Mar. 18, 2026)* (unpublished).

Defense counsel isn’t ineffective for not anticipating changes in the law and making motions to suppress that were foreclosed at the time. Williams v. State, 2026 Md. App. LEXIS 288 (Mar. 17, 2026)* (unpublished).

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Treatise 25% off through 3/22

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Hall

go here.

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MD: No IAC where def counsel reasonably concluded 4A lacked merit

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Hall

Defense counsel made reasonable choices not to pursue two Fourth Amendment challenges because it was likely that they’d lose. Williams v. State, 2026 Md. App. LEXIS 288 (Mar. 17, 2026)* (unreported):

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CA9: Failure to give a traffic ticket during a stop is meaningless

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Hall

Failure to give a traffic ticket during a stop is meaningless. United States v. Rhone, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 8131 (9th Cir. Mar. 19, 2026):

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MN: Physician-patient privilege doesn’t exempt medical records from SW

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Hall

Nonprivileged information in a patient’s medical records does not automatically become privileged when it is transmitted to or acquired by a healthcare provider. The physician-patient privilege statute does not prohibit a district court from issuing an order granting the State’s request for a warrant authorizing a particularized search of a criminal suspect’s medical records where the suspect was injured at the scene of a traffic accident. State v. Smeby, 2026 Minn. LEXIS 101 (Mar. 18, 2026).

The seizure of plaintiff’s bus was without a warrant, but that’s not a Fourth Amendment violation. Ravenscroft v. Cellar, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56133 (D. Neb. Mar. 18, 2026).*

“Figueroa’s response to those questions, in light of other attendant factors, gave Albrecht reasonable suspicion to believe that she was engaged in unlawful drug trafficking. In particular, he knew the Buick had a travel history that, based on his training and experience, was suspicious and consistent with drug trafficking. … Then, when Albrecht asked Figueroa about her travel history, she lied about it. And so did Lopez, who gave a completely different story. That also gives rise to reasonable suspicion. … In addition, Albrecht knew that Figueroa had previously been arrested for possession of a controlled substance. This, too, can contribute to an officer’s reasonable suspicion of drug trafficking.” United States v. Figueroa, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56392 (D. Kan. Mar. 17, 2026).*

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Reason: The Feds Are Investing in Wearable Health Trackers. That Could Put Your Private Data at Risk.

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Hall

Reason: The Feds Are Investing in Wearable Health Trackers. That Could Put Your Private Data at Risk. by Jeffrey A. Singer & Patrick Eddington (“By gathering continuous data about sleep, heart rate, and physical activity, biowearable devices can give individuals more control over their well-being. But they also create a detailed digital record of our daily lives—one that the federal government may soon be able to access readily. Consider this scenario. You’ve recently received a government-subsidized biowearable. Accordingly, the authorities now know when you’re sleeping, because the device reports your sleep cycle, location, and daily movements in real time to a cloud server accessible through a legal process. It knows when you’re home. It knows when you leave. Those data are then obtained by an FBI field office (either through direct purchase or, if necessary, a legal process), because a federal prosecutor has decided that your criticism of immigration enforcement operations and your social media posts supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters constitute ‘incitement to violence’ against federal agents.”)

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NPR: ICE officers are taking DNA samples from protesters they’ve arrested

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Hall

NPR: ICE officers are taking DNA samples from protesters they’ve arrested by Meg Anderson (“In statements made under oath as part of lawsuits against the Trump administration’s handling of immigration enforcement, [protesters] said they were arrested, seemingly without provocation, while protesting ICE and then had officers take or try to take what appeared to be a sample of their DNA.”)

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NY Co.: Pulling def out of his doorway when he opened his door was not a violation of Payton

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Hall

Pulling defendant out of his doorway when he opened his door was not a violation of Payton. People v. Honyghan, 2026 NYLJ LEXIS 435 (N.Y. Co. Mar. 18, 2026).

“The arresting officers’ body-worn camera videos reveal that Plaintiff was visibly intoxicated when officers approached his car, repeatedly refused to answer questions or cooperate with directives, and reached his hand into his jacket to retrieve an unknown object when officers attempted to remove him from his vehicle. All three Graham factors therefore support the reasonableness of the force used. Most notably, the officers reasonably suspected a threat to their safety when Plaintiff reached into his jacket and did so again even after being instructed not to do so.” King v. Davis, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 7913 (2d Cir. Mar. 18, 2026).*

An Apple Pay account is a financial account exempted from warrantless probation searches. Meiner v. Superior Court, 2026 Cal. App. LEXIS 166 (4th Dist. Mar. 18, 2026).*

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NC: Informant doesn’t need “track record” to be creditable

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Hall

The informant doesn’t need a “track record” to be credited as a source of information. State v. Vandergrift, 2026 N.C. App. LEXIS 202 (Mar. 18, 2026).

Police responded to a stolen ATM report and found defendant near an ATM in a shopping cart covered with a tarp. He matched the description they received. He had a ski mask on his head but it was hot. He reached for his waistband and tossed what officers believed was a gun in his car, locking it with the key fob. He was evasive in answering questions. This was reasonable suspicion. United States v. Pennycooke, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 7906 (3d Cir. Mar. 18, 2026).*

“The undisputed evidence in this case shows that Marr actively resisted arrest. When the officers first attempted to handcuff him, he prevented them from cuffing his right hand by pulling it away from their grasp. Then, after the officers wrestled him to the ground, he did not comply with their commands to stop moving and instead struggled and thrashed about. Such actions, this court has repeatedly held, permit officers to use force without violating clearly established law.” Est. of Marr v. City of Glasgow, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 7908 (6th Cir. Mar. 16, 2026).*

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AP: Rapper Afroman wins lawsuit against police over mocking their 2022 raid in viral music videos

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Hall

AP: Rapper Afroman wins lawsuit against police over mocking their 2022 raid in viral music videos by Maryclaire Dale (“The Grammy-nominated rapper Afroman won a defamation lawsuit filed by seven Ohio sheriff’s deputies who sued him over music videos in which he used home security footage to mock their raid of his home. ‘We did it, America! Yeah, we did it! Freedom of speech! Right on! Right on!’ the 51-year-old rapper, born Joseph Foreman, shouted outside the courthouse after the Wednesday evening verdict. He later posted the clip to social media. The case tested the limits of parody and the license artists can take in social commentary directed at public figures. The deputies, collectively, sought nearly $4 million in damages.” “No charges were filed over the 2022 raid, which the warrant said was part of a drug and kidnapping investigation. In his testimony, he said he had the right to tell his friends and fans what police had done. He said the raid traumatized his children, then 10 and 12.”) Nothing sought in the warrant was found.

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FoxNews: Surveillance tech causes police to accuse wrong woman in porch theft investigation

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Hall

FoxNews: Surveillance tech causes police to accuse wrong woman in porch theft investigation (“License plate reader data led to police accusing the wrong woman of porch theft before new evidence showed the suspect’s vehicle was not at the scene.” It was outside her house. The officer involved was sent for retraining.) So ALPR isn’t a panacea?

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MT: Owner of a stolen car can’t consent to search of defendant’s stuff in it

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Hall

Defendant stole Dempsey’s car. The trial court decided he had no standing in a stolen car. The supreme court held that Dempsey’s third-party consent to search defendant’s stuff was invalid. State v. Flores-Reyes, 2026 MT 56 (Mar. 17, 2026). [Generally, there’s a lack of standing in a stolen car. § 4.15 n.6-11.]

Pleading a Fourth Amendment claim without facts isn’t sufficient. Alston v. N.Y.C. Dep’t of Corr., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55710 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 17, 2026).*

Smell of marijuana and a bong falling out of the glove box was plain view. State v. Sosa-Valdez, 2026 N.C. App. LEXIS 210 (Mar. 18, 2026).*

In a child pornography case, facts about defendant sending money to the Phillippines a year and a half earlier wasn’t stale. Date restrictions in child pornography cases generally aren’t material. United States v. Marshall, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55794 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 27, 2026).*

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CA5: No REP against license plate readers

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Hall

License plate readers violate no reasonable expectation of privacy. Also, the stop was supported by reasonable suspicion. United States v. Porter, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 7888 (5th Cir. Mar. 17, 2026).

The informant’s information was sufficient to show probable cause for the warrant. Even if it didn’t, it was still enough for the good faith exception to apply. United States v. Webb, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55701 (S.D. Ill. Mar. 17, 2026).*

Officers were in a high crime area where they’d previously made many drug arrests. They encountered defendant and spoke to him, and his words and nervousness piqued their interest. On the bodycam videos, he’s not seized until reasonable suspicion developed. Commonwealth v. Robinson, 2026 PA Super 49 (Mar. 17, 2026).*

The search incident of defendant’s partially open backpack was reasonable after he was arrested for fleeing on a motorcycle and had a gun in his waist. United States v. Rocklage-Dompierre, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55131 (E.D. Mo. Mar. 17, 2026).*

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D.Utah: Ex parte SW process should not be used for access to tribal lands without adversary proceedings

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Hall

An ex parte search warrant isn’t appropriate to resolve an unresolved question of law about whether an Indian Tribe can condition access to tribal lands without an “assess permit.” An adversary proceeding is required. In re Search Warrant Application in EPA Admin. Insp. on Ute Tribal Land, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55160 (D. Utah Mar. 13, 2026):

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