W.D.N.Y.: There’s no standing in a dilapidated building def occupies knowing it was de facto condemned

Defendant put a mattress in a dilapidated building that he knew the city wanted unoccupied because it was unsafe. Therefore, the court concludes he has no standing. United States v. Rounds, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117174 (W.D.N.Y. September 2, 2015):
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AZ: A probation or parole search must be reasonable under the totality of circumstances; reasonable suspicion not required

A probation or parole search must be reasonable under the totality of circumstances, and the trial court erred in requiring reasonable suspicion. State v. Adair, 2015 Ariz. App. LEXIS 179 (September 3, 2015):
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TX1: Mere acquiescence can still be consent[!]

While the Texas standard of consent is clear and convincing evidence, “even a finding of ‘“[m]ere acquiescence” may constitute a finding of consent.’ Meekins, 340 S.W.3d at 463-64.” [apparently even though SCOTUS says no]. Hutchins v. State, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 9430 (Tex. App. – Houston (1st Dist.) September 3, 2015) (dissent here).

Even if the stop was pretextual, it had a factual basis so it’s valid. The patdown was valid and led to an immediate plain feel which was also valid. United States v. Pacheco, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117786 (S.D.Ohio September 3, 2015).*

A silver Camry with Pennsylvania license plates was seen involved in a freeway shooting. When the car matching the description was found, that was reasonable suspicion. State v. Volpe, 2015 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 720 (September 3, 2015).*

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M.D.Pa.: It is a reasonable inference that drug dealers keep their stashes at home

It is a reasonable inference that drug dealers keep their stashes at home, and that supports a search warrant of their home. United States v. Kelly, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117523 (M.D.Pa. September 3, 2015):
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MD: DUI arrest is generally justification for a search incident for the cause of intoxication

A DUI arrest is generally justification for a search incident of the interior of the vehicle for whatever made defendant intoxicated under Gant. “Although we may not be able reconcile these divergent holdings, it is clear that (1) an officer’s training and experience is an important, though not dispositive factor; (2) the lack of any innocent explanation for apparent intoxication in a vehicle may be grounds for reasonable suspicion; and (3) unless there are contrary indications, it is not unreasonable to think an intoxicated driver became intoxicated in the vehicle.” Taylor v. State, 2015 Md. App. LEXIS 124 (August 27, 2015).

Officers had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant for shooting at windows with a BB gun based on a prior call involving him and then finding him in the same neighborhood after another call. State v. Campolo, 2015-Ohio-3624, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 3540 (5th Dist. September 2, 2015).*

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W.D.Pa.: No standing in an overdue rental car in somebody else’s name

Defendant had no standing in a rental car that was overdue and rented by somebody else who let him drive it. A representative of the rental car company came to the scene to retrieve it, and he consented to a search, and this was proper. United States v. Woodley, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116170 (W.D.Pa. September 1, 2015).

It was reasonable under Heien for the officer to stop defendant because the license plate bracket obscured the top and bottom of the license plate. United States v. McCullough, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117016 (M.D.Ala. August 4, 2015), adopted 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116730 (M.D. Ala. August 17, 2015).*

Defendant’s abandoning his gun prior to his seizure by the officer was not the product of any illegality of the officer. United States v. Thompson, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116757 (E.D.Pa. September 2, 2015).*

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TX6: Failure to cite state constitution and rules in argument on motion to suppress was waiver

While defendant’s motion to suppress cited the Fourth Amendment, the state constitution, and state criminal rules, at the hearing defendant mentioned only the Fourth Amendment, so the others were waived. Glenn v. State, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 9433 (Tex. App. – Texarkana September 4, 2015).

Defendant was stopped because he weaved and his license plate light was out, but he stopped in the middle of the road, then pulled off. When asked for his ID he handed over his wallet. He also had watery bloodshot eyes and said he had “two beers.” There was reasonable suspicion, and the trial court erred in suppressing the stop. State v. Albaugh, 2015-Ohio-3536, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 3452 (5th Dist. August 28, 2015).*

“Further, the information set forth in the affidavits that was provided by the confidential informant is detailed and specific, and is, at least in part, consistent with other information independently learned by the agent.” The affidavit also mentioned the CI was seeking consideration in his own criminal case. There was probable cause. United States v. Crew, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115781 (S.D.Ohio August 31, 2015).*

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D.Mass. somewhat reluctantly concludes, after surveying many cases, that long term pole camera surveillance of defendant’s front door is constitutionally proper

D.Mass. somewhat reluctantly concludes, after surveying many cases, that long term pole camera surveillance of defendant’s front door is constitutionally proper. That surveillance led to a GPS warrant on a car. United States v. Garcia-Gonzalez, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116312 (D.Mass. September 1, 2015):
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Reason: DOJ Announces ‘New Policy’ of Acknowledging Fourth Amendment for CSLI

Reason: DOJ Announces ‘New Policy’ of Acknowledging Fourth Amendment by Scott Shackford:

Will require agents get warrants for devices that track mobile phone locations …. While this new policy covers only federal law enforcement, it’s also been established that the FBI was partly responsible for pushing municipal law enforcement agencies to keep use of StingRay devices a secret, complete with non-disclosure agreements. Will those go away now, too?

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W.D.Pa.: Def couldn’t show standing for CSLI on this phone, and, even if he could, he’d lose

Reiterating a prior opinion in the case, the defendant did not show standing to challenge CSLI on a phone associated with him, and even if he could, he’d lose on the merits (surveying the cases). United States v. Woodley, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116170 (W.D.Pa. September 1, 2015):
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WaPo: Radley Balko’s ‘The Watch’ Blog: The blue wall: Stronger than ever

WaPo: Radley Balko’s ‘The Watch’ Blog: The blue wall: Stronger than ever:

The police culture of silence uses both official and nonofficial means to keep misconduct under wraps.

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NYTimes: A Surreptitious Courtroom Video Prompts Changes in a Georgia Town

NYTimes: A Surreptitious Courtroom Video Prompts Changes in a Georgia Town by Sheila Dewan:

An explosion of cellphone videos has brought renewed attention to police practices, provoking criticism, indictments and talk of criminal justice overhaul.

Courtroom videos of judges in action, however, are far rarer. But one surreptitious video in a small-town Georgia court has led to an overhaul of court practices there. The video showed the judge threatening to jail traffic violators who could not come up with an immediate payment toward their fines.

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Courthouse News Service: ACLU Asks Feds to Deny LAPD Camera Funds

Courthouse News Service: ACLU Asks Feds to Deny LAPD Camera Funds by Matt Reynolds:

The ACLU says the Justice Department should deny federal funds for the LAPD’s body-camera program because of a policy that allows officials to review and withhold footage. The ACLU of Southern California wrote an 11-page letter to the Justice Department on Thursday asking it to reject the LAPD’s request to fund the program as part of a $75 million effort by the Obama administration to equip officers with cameras.

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CA4: Landlord could consent; defendant had been evicted and locks changed

Defendant had been evicted from his apartment by the landlord who had changed the locks. He had also expressed to her a desire to vacate and was leaving unwanted stuff behind. The landlord could not produce the key because her sister, the co-landlord, had it. The officers went up the fire escape and looked in the window finding the place trashed with what was left behind. They entered. The reasonable objective facts available to the officers were that the defendant had vacated or been evicted or both. The landlord thus had the apparent authority to consent. United States v. Naughton, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15592 (4th Cir. September 2, 2015).

It was reasonable for officers to open defendant’s vehicle door to check on him under the community caretaking function. Officers were summoned to a Walmart and found defendant’s girlfriend inside so intoxicated she was falling asleep standing up holding on to a shopping cart. They talked to her and she said she was taking pills for back pain, and her boyfriend was in the car waiting for her, and he could drive her away. They went to the car and saw him asleep in the passenger seat and shined a light in and he had a baggie in his hand. They opened the door to wake him up, and he attempted to discard the baggie. United States v. Lewis, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118145 (E.D.Ky. September 4, 2015).*

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SC: Turning computer over to repair tech when it wouldn’t boot was waiver of REP in the data because the hard drive needed repair

Defendant turned her computer over to a repair technician when it wouldn’t boot. He was copying files from the hard drive to backup the data before attempting to fix it, and he saw a questionable image suggesting child exploitation. Coincidentally, a police officer friend was at the house and saw an image flash by which apparently the repair person didn’t. He asked for it to be located again, and they both saw the image. The repair person was a mandatory reporter. The seizure of the file for a later search warrant was reasonable because defendant relinquished her reasonable expectation of privacy in the computer by seeking repair by an outsider. State v. Cardwell, 2015 S.C. App. LEXIS 206 (September 2, 2015).

There was probable cause for a search of defendant’s premises. The affidavit showed that defendant was an active drug dealer who used his home as a base of operations. United States v. Kelly, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117523 (M.D.Pa. August 28, 2015);* United States v. Hernandez, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115946 (M.D.Pa. September 1, 2015).*

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NYTimes: Justice Dept. to Require Warrants for Some Cellphone Tracking

NYTimes: Justice Dept. to Require Warrants for Some Cellphone Tracking by Nicholas Fandos:

The Justice Department will regularly require federal agents to seek warrants before using secretive equipment that can locate and track cellphones, the agency announced Thursday, the first regulations on an increasingly controversial technology. The new policy, which also limits what information may be collected and how long it can be stored, puts a measure of judicial oversight on a technology that was designed to hunt terrorists overseas but has become a popular tool among federal agents and local police officers for fighting crime.

DOJ Policy Guidance document is available here.

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The Marshall Project: A Phone Call From Jail? Better Watch What You Say

The Marshall Project: A Phone Call From Jail? Better Watch What You Say by Ken Armstrong:
A confession, a threat—it’s probably taped. And admissible.

Although people do things against their own interest all the time, even the police can be amazed. Moe Greenberg, a Baltimore County police detective, is the author of Detective’s Notebook, an advice column for fellow investigators. One time he wrote: “Most facilities that record inmate’s calls or visitations play a preliminary recorded message informing the inmate that their call or visitation will be recorded. One would think that this would eliminate any references to criminal acts, actions, knowledge, or involvement. Despite this very clear warning to the inmate, they still talk!”

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OH3: Trial court decided issue defense didn’t raise, and state prejudiced

The trial court erred in sua sponte raising a length of detention issue that the state did not get to respond to. State v. Miller, 2015-Ohio-3529, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 3443 (3d Dist. August 31, 2015):
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CA8: Rodriguez loses on remand to Davis GFE [the ultimate perversion of good faith: the guy whose case made the rule loses, too]

WaPo: Volokh Conspiracy: Rodriguez wins, Rodriguez loses by Orin Kerr (United States v. Rodriguez, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15675 (8th Cir. September 3, 2015):
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techdirt: DOJ Reasserts Its Right To Engage In Seized Data Fishing Expeditions

techdirt: DOJ Reasserts Its Right To Engage In Seized Data Fishing Expeditions by Tim Cushing:

Last June, the Second Circuit appeals court restored a bit of Fourth Amendment protection to computers/devices seized by government investigators. In the case being appealed, accountant Stavros Ganias had three of his computers imaged by Army investigators looking for evidence of billing fraud and property theft. He wasn’t a suspect in either of the crimes and the warrant specified investigators were only to review information from Ganias’ hard drives pertinent to these allegations.

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