CA8: Stop of the wrong person on reasonable but mistaken belief not suppressed

Based on an informant’s story, the police were looking for Barefield in a particular car. They happened upon defendant Patrick at the appointed time and place near the informant in a car matching the description. A reasonable but mistaken belief that defendant and his car were the ones described by the informant here added up to even probable cause for the stop. United States v. Patrick, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 1003 (8th Cir. January 23, 2015):
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MS: Throwing down car keys and running away from a car is abandonment

Throwing down car keys and running away from a car is abandonment. Green v. State, 2015 Miss. App. LEXIS 29 (January 20, 2015).

In executing a search warrant for stolen goods on the premises of a convicted felon, the finding of a firearm is considered in plain view. United States v. Emter, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8047 (D. Mont. January 23, 2015).*

Defendant was arrested for no DL, and he was patted down for weapons. A more intense search at the jail was inevitable discovery of the heroin in his groin area. State v. Brown, 2015-Ohio-191, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 165 (2d Dist. January 23, 2015).*

Defendant’s stop and questioning at a gas station at 1:30 am was without reasonable suspicion. While at the gas pump, defendant was cleaning out his car, and the officer saw a small clear plastic baggie in his hand, so they approached to question him. He was doing nothing wrong but cleaning out his car. State v. Embry, 2015-Ohio-193, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 163 (2d Dist. January 23, 2015).*

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The Marshall Project: Does tear gas belong in schools? Do police?

The Marshall Project: Does tear gas belong in schools? Do police? by Dana Goldstein:

On Jan. 20, a federal court in Birmingham began hearing arguments in a class-action lawsuit alleging that school-based police officers used excessive force in spraying disabling chemicals on teenagers.

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WaPo: New role for District police body cameras

Washington Post: New role for District police body cameras by Keith Alexander:

When D.C. police began outfitting some officers’ shirts and glasses with miniature cameras in the fall, the objectives were obvious: to protect residents from overly zealous officers during arrests as well as to protect officers from any unfounded complaints. But this month in D.C. Superior Court, prosecutors and defense attorneys explored another benefit of the video: as evidence for trial.

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NYTimes: Verizon’s Mobile ‘Supercookies’ Seen as Threat to Privacy

NYTimes: Verizon’s Mobile ‘Supercookies’ Seen as Threat to Privacy by Natasha Singer and Brian X. Chenjan:

For the last several months, cybersecurity experts have been warning Verizon Wireless that it was putting the privacy of its customers at risk. The computer codes the company uses to tag and follow its mobile subscribers around the web, they said, could make those consumers vulnerable to covert tracking and profiling.

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FL: Litigation of 2000 search issue in Wisconsin finding GFE applied was collateral estoppel on later case in Florida on same search

Conflict of laws: Defendant was the target of a search in 2000 in Wisconsin, and, after conviction, the warrant was found issued without probable cause but the good faith exception applied. Some of the DNA evidence from that case linked defendant to a murder in 2006 in Florida, and the trial court held collateral estoppel barred relitigating the Wisconsin search issue in Florida. Marquardt v. State, 2015 Fla. LEXIS 111 (January 22, 2015):
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D.Kan.: Return of property denied; although this case dismissed, codefendant’s case still alive

Return of property denied despite the fact defendant’s case was dismissed. Defendant’s wife was his codefendant, and she was convicted, but she’s litigating a 2255, so the evidence may still be needed by the government. United States v. Neighbors, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7023 (D. Kan. January 22, 2015).

Defendant could not suppress recordings of telephone calls (1) made to him during an armed standoff and (2) from the jail. United States v. Headbird, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180911 (D.Minn. December 22, 2014).*

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N.D.Ill.: SW not required for cell site location information; the third party doctrine hasn’t changed

A search warrant is not required for cell site location information. Jones is inapplicable, and the third party doctrine hasn’t changed. United States v. Lang, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7553 (N.D. Ill. January 23, 2015):
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D.Ore.: Florence does not foreclose strip search claim of inmate workers already detained

Class certification granted to litigate strip searches of incarcerated kitchen worker inmates in the county jail for lack of a penological purpose. Florence does not foreclose this action because that deals with admittees into jails. Cunningham v. Multnomah County, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7326 (D. Or. January 20, 2015).

There was sufficient probable cause that defendant had at least committed disorderly conduct in refusing a lawful order of a law enforcement officer that he could be convicted of resisting arrest. S.M.K.S. v. Youth Court, 2015 Miss. LEXIS 39 (January 22, 2015).*

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D.V.I.: Ordering defendant out of his house with guns drawn constitutes a constructive arrest in the home

Ordering defendant out of his house with guns drawn constitutes a constructive arrest in the home. His later consent to search it, however, was found attenuated. United States v. Bailey, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7851 (D.V.I. January 23, 2015):

Further, as Agent Adeen and Agent O’Quinn approached the front door and told Bailey to “come out [because] we need to speak to you,” they had their weapons drawn because they considered this a “high risk situation.” The Court does not question the agents’ decision to approach the residence with weapons drawn for safety reasons, and recognizes that the weapons were in the “low ready” position. Nonetheless, the Court finds that, under the circumstances here, when the two agents approached the residence with guns drawn and ordered Bailey out of the house, they displayed a show of authority and threat of force such that a reasonable person would not have believed he was free to remain in the house. Thus, Bailey was constructively arrested inside his home.

In view of the foregoing, the Court concludes that Bailey’s warrantless arrest violated the Fourth Amendment.

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E.D.Pa.: In complex financial crimes, particularity standard must be flexible

This financial search warrant may appear to be overbroad, but it alleged a seven year scheme and sought many types of financial records. “This is the sort of ‘complex scheme[] spanning many years’ for which our Court of Appeals prescribed flexibility in Christine. Christine, 687 F.2d at 760. Fattah may not use the complexity of his alleged crimes as a ‘shield to avoid detection.’ Andresen, 427 U.S. at 480 n.10. The categories of information authorized to be searched or seized did not permit law enforcement to go on an unrestrained search, and they were consistent with the scope of probable cause established by the Government in the search warrant affidavit. We conclude that the warrant was not impermissibly general.” Also, mere disagreement with the inferences drawn by the affiant does not make the affidavit false. United States v. Fattah, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7162 (E.D. Pa. January 22, 2015).

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N.D.Ill.: Davis good faith is objective, so the gov’t doesn’t really have a burden of proof

The court previously held that use of defendant’s garage door opener to locate his place did not violate the Fourth Amendment. After Riley, the defendants moved for reconsideration, and the court first found Riley inapplicable and, even if it was, Davis good faith would apply because of prior case law. More interestingly, however, was the court’s discussion of the burden of proof of good faith since it is based on an objective standard. United States v. Correa, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6978 (N.D. Ill. January 21, 2015):
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MS: Lifting def’s shirt during a Terry stop was reasonable; drugs revealed

Lifting defendant’s baggy shirt during a virtual felony stop, but characterized as a Terry stop, was not unreasonable because a weapon could have been there [although the court admits that there was no belief there was a gun]. Instead, drugs were validly found. Parks v. State, 2015 Miss. App. LEXIS 27 (January 20, 2015):
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E.D.Mo.: [Without waiting for Rodriguez,] littering stop can justify use of a drug dog

Littering stop validly led to a dog sniff without reasonable suspicion being required [and couldn’t wait for Rodriguez?]. United States v. Woods, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180639 (E.D. Mo. December 16, 2014).

An off-duty officer observed defendant involved in a hit-and-run, and she stopped him with probable cause [it was actually argued that it wasn’t]. He had the odor of raw and burnt marijuana about him, and that justified his strip search at the jail. White v. State, 2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 21 (January 16, 2015).

Since the defendant’s confession was voluntary, the seizure of his computer by what was learned isn’t suppressed. United States v. Lowe, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6537 (E.D. Mich. January 21, 2015).*

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CA5: Prison inmate stated claim for unreasonable strip searches conducted without “any penological justification”

Plaintiff prison inmate pled enough to overcome dismissal of his complaint for failure to state a claim for unreasonable strip searches conducted without “any penological justification.” Ponce v. Lucas, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 941 (5th Cir. January 22, 2015):
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EFF.org: The Many Problems with the DEA’s Bulk Phone Records Collection Program

EFF.org: The Many Problems with the DEA’s Bulk Phone Records Collection Program by Hanni Farkhoury:

Think mass surveillance is just the wheelhouse of agencies like the NSA? Think again. One of the biggest concerns to come from the revelations about the NSA’s bulk collection of the phone records of millions of innocent Americans was that law enforcement agencies might be doing the same thing. It turns out this concern was valid, as last week the government let slip for the first time that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had also been collecting the phone records of Americans in bulk since the 1990s.

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The Hill: Lawmakers push to require a warrant for GPS tracking by police

The Hill: Lawmakers push to require a warrant for GPS tracking by police by Julian Hattem:

Lawmakers in both parties are pushing to require that police have a warrant before tracking people’s locations via their cellphones and other GPS devices.

Members of the House and Senate introduced the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance (GPS) Act on Thursday, which would protect information about people’s locations from the police and other people.

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NPR: Police Departments Issuing Body Cameras Discover Drawbacks

NPR: Police Departments Issuing Body Cameras Discover Drawbacks by Martin Kaste:

Wearable video cameras are fast becoming standard-issue gear for American police. The cameras promise a technological answer to complaints about racial bias and excessive force. But in fact, the beneficial effects of body cameras are not well-established yet. And the police departments that rushed to buy them are now dealing with some unintended consequences.

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OH9: Where purpose of stop almost immediately ended, questioning driver about drugs was unreasonable

While surveilling a drug house, officer stopped defendant’s car because the officer recognized the passenger and that there was a warrant out for the passenger’s arrest. After arresting the passenger, the officer unnecessarily questioned the defendant driver about drugs and this became a detention without reasonable suspicion. The purpose of the stop almost immediately ended. Consent was rejected as being during the illegal detention and not an act of free will. State v. Love, 2015-Ohio-142, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 126 (9th Dist. January 20, 2015).

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GA: No apparent authority to consent to search of roommate’s locked bedroom door where no key

Defendant lived with his uncle, and he kept the door to his bedroom locked. The officers could not objectively rely on the uncle’s consent where he had no key, and officers had to use a knife to jimmy the door open. State v. Colvard, 2015 Ga. LEXIS 6 (January 20, 2015).

Defendant’s motion to raise, inter alia, an illegal search claim 13 years after his guilty plea by a motion to withdraw the plea for ineffective assistance is denied. Rhodes v. State, 2015 Ga. LEXIS 14 (January 20, 2015).*

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