Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday barred local and state police from using federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without proving that a crime occurred.
Holder’s action represents the most sweeping check on police power to confiscate personal property since the seizures began three decades ago as part of the war on drugs.
Since 2008, thousands of local and state police agencies have made more than 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion under a civil asset forfeiture program at the Justice Department called Equitable Sharing.
. . .
The Post found that local and state police routinely pulled over drivers for minor traffic infractions, pressed them to agree to warrantless searches and seized large amounts of cash without evidence of wrongdoing. The law allows such seizures and forces the owners to prove their property was legally acquired in order to get it back.
Posted inForfeiture|Comments Off on WaPo: Holder limits seized-asset sharing process that split billions with local, state police
According to the letter, Van Hook on four occasions issued warrants from the bench without any probable cause from law enforcement or a prosecutor. In one case, the prosecutor at trial asked for the charge to be dismissed, but Van Hook refused, finding the defendant “guilty of a charge the State offered no evidence to support.”
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on AR censures judge for issuing warrants from the bench without PC
Neither the Fourth Amendment nor the state constitution require that the owner of property be named in the search warrant. The factual dispute over whether a signed warrant was present at the search was found against the defendant, who also claimed to be illiterate. Lawson v. State, 2015 Miss. App. LEXIS 16 (January 13, 2015).
Defendant got into a controversy with a neighbor about estray cattle, and defendant refused to permit the owner to go on his land to look, essentially making a threat that he’d never come back from there. When the police arrived, they talked to defendant, but he was not seized until the threat was made. As for his excessive force in arrest claim, that was tried to the jury which rejected it, so that’s not a ground to suppress. State v. Brossart, 2015 ND 1, 2015 N.D. LEXIS 1 (January 12, 2015).*
Defendant had a motion to suppress, but he disagreed with how it was argued and that was IAC. He can’t show a different outcome, so he can’t show entitlement to relief. State v. Suarez, 2015-Ohio-64, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 53 (12th Dist. January 12, 2015).*
When the GPS was put on defendant’s car in 2011 before Jones, binding precedent said that it was lawful, so the good faith exception applies. United States v. Taylor, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 601 (7th Cir. January 14, 2015); People v. Mackey, 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 30 (1st Dist. January 14, 2015).
Defendant’s initial detention in a casino was justified by the fact he was using a fake ID. The court finds he was in custody for Miranda purposes. Then he was taken by the DEA to a small room in the federal courthouse. “Because no Miranda warning was given, I believe that questions and answers which occurred after Gould established Defendant’s identity must be suppressed,” as are the fruits. United States v. Jarquin-Espinoza, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2759 (N.D. Iowa January 9, 2015).*
Under Iowa law, the implied consent law includes a second urine test in case DUI-drugs is suspected. State v. McIver, 2015 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 6 (January 9, 2015).*
Burnt aluminum foil in plain view in a car is probable cause for a search. State v. Johannes, 2015 Iowa App. LEXIS 25 (January 14, 2015).
Officers assembled outside a hotel room after neighbors complained that there was yelling and screaming in the room and the word “shoot” was shouted. They called the room, and the occupant denied there was a woman inside, even though two checked in. He came out the door of the room and police rushed him. The entry into the room was based on reasonable suspicion and was a “protective search” [sweep] for the apparent gun. State v. Hill, 2015 Iowa App. LEXIS 4 (January 14, 2015).*
The trial court having credited the testimony of the officer about a brake light being the basis for the stop, there was a factual basis for it. State v. Washington, 2015 Iowa App. LEXIS 8 (January 14, 2015).*
Testifying before a House subcommittee last year, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration warned that marijuana legalization is bad for dogs. DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart was talking about pets that inadvertently eat cannabis-infused snacks. But she could have been referring to marijuana-detecting police dogs, which face an uncertain future in jurisdictions where a whiff of pot is no longer evidence of a crime.
As legalization takes effect in two more states this year, police and prosecutors in Oregon and Alaska are confronting the same canine conundrum that their counterparts in Colorado and Washington have been dealing with since 2012: What good is a dog trained to find marijuana when marijuana is legal?
Posted inDog sniff|Comments Off on Forbes: What Good Is A Pot-Sniffing Dog When Pot Is Legal?
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday eliminated what journalism groups worried could be used as a loophole in the rules governing how and when prosecutors can subpoena journalists.
Posted inE-mail, Third Party Doctrine|Comments Off on NYTimes: Holder Fortifies Protection of News Media’s Phone Records, Notes or Emails
Abduction from the Dominican Republic to Florida for trial did not violate extradition treaty because extradition is only one way to get a person back to the U.S. United States v. Odoni, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 502 (11th Cir. January 13, 2015): Continue reading →
Posted inArrest or entry on arrest|Comments Off on CA11: Abduction from the Dominican Republic to Florida for trial did not deny jurisdiction to try offense
The use of a drug dog for a walk-through of a house of one on supervised release is suppressed, and it was contrary to precedent, so no good faith exception. United States v. Hill, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 499 (4th Cir. January 13, 2015):
The defendants contend that the walk-through and dog sniff violated the Fourth Amendment. Our precedent required the officers in this situation to have a search warrant rather than merely reasonable suspicion to search Barker’s home. Accordingly, we hold that the walk-through and dog sniff were unlawful searches. We also reject the government’s contention that the good-faith exception applies with respect to the evidence seized as a result of the dog sniff. Finally, we vacate the judgments and remand for the district court to properly consider whether, pursuant to the “independent source” doctrine, the officers in this case “‘would have sought a warrant’ even if they had not conducted the unlawful search[es].” United States v. Bullard, 645 F.3d 237, 244 (4th Cir. 2011) (quoting Murray v. United States, 487 U.S. 533, 543, 108 S. Ct. 2529, 101 L. Ed. 2d 472 (1988)).
Posted inDog sniff, Probation / Parole search|Comments Off on CA4: Use of a drug dog for a walk-through of a house of one on supervised release violates Fourth Amendment
Pay attention if you care about due process, Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches, the limits of government surveillance, and Internet freedom.
[Internet writers are more prone to exaggeration and devalued the language more than any group in the world. Draw your own conclusion.]
Posted inComputer and cloud searches|Comments Off on Reason.com: Why the Prosecution of Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht is “The Most Important Trial in America”
State trial judge’s suppression of a search under the automobile exception is not binding on the federal government because of dual sovereignty. This court does not suppress. State’s interpretation of exigency for an automobile search is different than required by the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Perry, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2923 (D. N.J. January 9, 2015): Continue reading →
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on D.N.J.: State trial judge’s suppression of a search under the automobile exception is not binding on the federal government because of dual sovereignty
Defendant was on a motorcycle. Before the stop even occurred, the officer called for a drug dog. When the canine officer heard of the stop, he came to the scene. Defendant refused consent to search, and the drug dog was almost immediately there. The sniff violated no Fourth Amendment rights because the stop was not extended for it. The fact the officer and the dog were separately certified wasn’t much of an issue. [Apparently it was not argued that a drug dog sniff as a matter of course during a traffic stop without any reasonable suspicion was unreasonable, not that it would have gotten any headway in this circuit.] United States v. Gunnell, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 426 (8th Cir. January 12, 2015): Continue reading →
Posted inDog sniff|Comments Off on CA8: Drug dog was on the scene of speeding stop immediately; sniff was valid
Defendant deferred the question to consent to search his place to his mother with whom he lived. She validly and promptly consented to the officers’ request, and it was all voluntary. United States v. Gossett, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 417, 2015 FED App. 0027N (6th Cir. January 8, 2015).
Defendant was stopped for a traffic offense, and her condition was such that the officer could continue the stop longer ultimately for an FST. State v. Kellogg, 22 Neb. App. 638, 2015 Neb. App. LEXIS 2 (January 6, 2015).*
A citizen’s report that a dark skinned male on a purple bicycle had a gun falling out of his waistband was reason enough for an encounter, and this one was nonthreatening and did not even involve the use of toplights. When asked about a gun, defendant’s demeanor was a denial but looking down at his waistband. On the totality, a frisk was justified. United States v. Pena-Flores, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2704 (D. Utah January 9, 2015).*
Jaywalking supports a stop but not a frisk. State v. Millerton, 2015-Ohio-34, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 31 (2d Dist. January 9, 2015).
Probable cause cuts off a state malicious prosecution and § 1983 action. Henderson v. City of Euclid, 2015-Ohio-15, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 8 (8th Dist. January 8, 2015).*
A suit by an animal rescue group against a prosecutor for zealously prosecuting them plus searching one plaintiff’s law office computer was subject to Younger abstention. Having to wait for the state court proceedings to conclude is not irreparable harm. Sixth Angel Shepherd Rescue, Inc. v. Schiliro, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 355 (3d Cir. January 9, 2015).*
The impoundment of this vehicle and inventory of the contents was proper under the circumstances. It was found with the engine running in a high crime area, and it was subject to vandalism or theft if left, all aside from the furtive movements and drugs found in the passenger compartment. Commonwealth v. Crowley-Chester, 86 Mass. App. Ct. 804, 21 N.E.3d 988 (2015).
During a traffic stop, a weapon could be seen in the vehicle. A patdown was justified. The stop was not prolonged. The frisk occurred within three minutes of the stop. United States v. Einfeldt, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180047 (D. Minn. December 16, 2014),* adopted 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2940 (D. Minn. January 12, 2015).*
Defendant’s experience in the criminal justice system was a factor in his consent. He was a middle aged man, and four officers were present in a house with 3-4 people. The situation was not overbearing. He was not told of his right to refuse consent, but that does not make in involuntary. United States v. Moore, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2179 (W.D. N.C. January 7, 2015).*
Posted inConsent, Inventory, Plain view, feel, smell|Comments Off on MA: Impoundment was appropriate for a vehicle that would have to be left in a high-crime area
The NYPD has a secretive program that uses unmarked vans with X-ray machines designed to detect bombs. ProPublica tried to find out more about it, but the NYPD refused to answer for three years.
Posted inSearch|Comments Off on ProPublica: Judge Orders NYPD to Release Records on X-ray Vans
The thermal imaging systems used by the French police to find the two brothers suspected in the Charlie Hebdo massacre last week are based on a rapidly evolving technology now turning up in hospitals, airports, and even smartphones.
Posted inSearch|Comments Off on WaPo: Thermal Imaging Allows for Picturing the Invisible
After discussing at length the purposes of the knock-and-announce rule and how well established it is, the court finds that the officer was not entitled to qualified immunity for a violation of the rule for entry into plaintiffs’ home without announcing. It was also not objectively reasonable. Trent v. Wade, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 391 (5th Cir. January 9, 2015), substituted opinion 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 1462 (10th Cir. January 29, 2015): Continue reading →
"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It isn't, and they don't." —Me
"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well." –Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw), Josh Billings on Ice, and Other Things (1868) (erroneously attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson, among others)
“I am still learning.” —Domenico Giuntalodi (but misattributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti (common phrase throughout 1500's)).
"Love work; hate mastery over others; and avoid intimacy with the government."
—Shemaya, in the Thalmud
"It is a pleasant world we live in, sir, a very pleasant world. There are bad people in it, Mr. Richard, but if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers."
—Charles Dickens, “The Old Curiosity Shop ... With a Frontispiece. From a Painting by Geo. Cattermole, Etc.” 255 (1848)
"A system of law that not only makes certain conduct criminal, but also lays down rules for the conduct of the authorities, often becomes complex in its application to individual cases, and will from time to time produce imperfect results, especially if one's attention is confined to the particular case at bar. Some criminals do go free because of the necessity of keeping government and its servants in their place. That is one of the costs of having and enforcing a Bill of Rights. This country is built on the assumption that the cost is worth paying, and that in the long run we are all both freer and safer if the Constitution is strictly enforced." —Williams v. Nix, 700 F. 2d 1164, 1173 (8th Cir. 1983) (Richard Sheppard Arnold, J.), rev'd Nix v. Williams, 467 US. 431 (1984).
"The criminal goes free, if he must, but it is the law that sets him free. Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence." —Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 659 (1961).
"Any costs the exclusionary rule are costs imposed directly by the Fourth Amendment."
—Yale Kamisar, 86 Mich.L.Rev. 1, 36 n. 151 (1987).
"There have been powerful hydraulic pressures throughout our history that bear heavily on the Court to water down constitutional guarantees and give the police the upper hand. That hydraulic pressure has probably never been greater than it is today." — Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 39 (1968) (Douglas, J., dissenting).
"The great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property." —Entick v. Carrington, 19 How.St.Tr. 1029, 1066, 95 Eng. Rep. 807 (C.P. 1765)
"It is a fair summary of history to say that the safeguards of liberty have frequently been forged in controversies involving not very nice people. And so, while we are concerned here with a shabby defrauder, we must deal with his case in the context of what are really the great themes expressed by the Fourth Amendment." —United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56, 69 (1950) (Frankfurter, J., dissenting)
"The course of true law pertaining to searches and seizures, as enunciated here, has not–to put it mildly–run smooth." —Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610, 618 (1961) (Frankfurter, J., concurring).
"A search is a search, even if it happens to disclose nothing but the bottom of a turntable." —Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 325 (1987)
"For the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. ... But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected." —Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351 (1967)
“Experience should teach us to be most on guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” —United States v. Olmstead, 277 U.S. 438, 479 (1925) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)
“Liberty—the freedom from unwarranted intrusion by government—is as easily lost through insistent nibbles by government officials who seek to do their jobs too well as by those whose purpose it is to oppress; the piranha can be as deadly as the shark.” —United States v. $124,570, 873 F.2d 1240, 1246 (9th Cir. 1989)
"You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometimes / You just might find / You get what you need." —Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, Let it Bleed (album, 1969)
"In Germany, they first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came for me–and by that time there was nobody left to speak up."
—Martin Niemöller (1945) [he served seven years in a concentration camp]
“Children grow up thinking the adult world is ordered, rational, fit for purpose. It’s crap. Becoming a man is realising that it’s all rotten. Realising how to celebrate that rottenness, that’s freedom.” – John le Carré, The Night Manager (1993), line by Richard Roper
"The point of the Fourth Amendment, which often is not grasped by zealous officers, is not that it denies law enforcement the support of the usual inferences which reasonable men draw from evidence. Its protection consists in requiring that those inferences be drawn by a neutral and detached magistrate instead of being judged by the officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime." —Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948)
The book was dedicated in the first (1982) and sixth (2025) editions to Justin William Hall (1975-2025). He was three when this project started in 1978.
