AOL AutoBlog: White House clears way for NHTSA to mandate vehicle black boxes by Jeremy Korzeniewski:

At present, over 90 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States today are equipped with event data recorders, more commonly known as black boxes. If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gets its way, that already high figure will swell to a full 100 percent in short order.

Such automotive black boxes have been in existence since the 1990s, and all current Ford, General Motors, Mazda and Toyota vehicles are so equipped. NHTSA has been attempting to make these data recorders mandatory for automakers, and according to The Detroit News, the White House Office of Management Budget has just finished reviewing the proposal, clearing the way. Now NHTSA is expected to draft new legislation to make the boxes a requirement.

An individual subject to an arrest warrant does not forfeit all expectations of privacy from illegal arrest. State v. Gardner, 2012 Ohio 5683, 135 Ohio St. 3d 99, 984 N.E.2d 1025 (2012):

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Telling a person that he’s the target of a child pornography investigation creates exigency to seize his work computer so he won’t destroy what’s on it. Here, the officers told defendant they had probable cause against him. United States v. Brown, 701 F.3d 120 (4th Cir. 2012):

Based on their investigation, the detectives had probable cause to believe that any computer used by either Brown or Yarboro during their work shifts at Medical Transport harbored evidence of child pornography. Accordingly, when the Charlottesville detectives informed Brown that they were investigating internet crimes against children, they had probable cause to believe that Brown's laptop, which he possessed during his work shift, contained evidence of child pornography. See United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 701 (1983) (recognizing that the Fourth Amendment permits a warrantless seizure of property "[w]here law enforcement authorities have probable cause to believe that [the property] holds contraband or evidence of a crime ..., if the exigencies of the circumstances demand it."). Following up on Brown's response, it was entirely reasonable for the officers to seize Brown's laptop – as they did – to prevent either it or its contents from being damaged or destroyed. See King at 1862.

Police created exigency?

Defendant was arrested for criminal impersonation for giving false name, address, and DOB to officer during a traffic stop, and that supported his search incident. Stafford v. State, 59 A.3d 1223 (Del. 2012).

Validity of consent issue is not one normally appealable by the state in Arkansas. State v. Myers, 2012 Ark. 453, 2012 Ark. LEXIS 486 (December 6, 2012)*; Same; consent in advance for parole search. State v. Jones, 2012 Ark. 454, 2012 Ark. LEXIS 484 (December 6, 2012).*

Trial court’s crediting officer’s testimony that defendant failed to stop at a red light was sufficient to justify a stop. State v. Turk, 2012 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 985 (December 5, 2012).*

Defendant’s revocation of his consent did not make the officers’ presence unlawful for purposes of his resisting arrest prosecution. People v. Kodlowski, 2012 Mich. App. LEXIS 2440 (December 4, 2012).*

There was [apparently] probable cause for plaintiff’s arrest and the impoundment of his car, so his Fourth Amendment claim fails. Philpott v. Weaver, 497 Fed. Appx. 667 (8th Cir. 2012).*

A Kansas ruse checkpoint led to a stop. The government argued that the defendants were not seized at the time of the stop, but the district court didn’t believe the trooper’s testimony because it was contradictory. Substantial evidence supported the district court’s findings of fact leading to suppression of the search. The stop was in Kansas and the indictment was in the Northern District of New York. United States v. Murphy, 703 F.3d 182 (2d Cir. 2012).*

Defendant was staying at a house on house arrest, and he did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy as to its storage room to which he had a key. He did not have exclusive access to it, and others came and went. United States v. Gardner, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171927 (E.D. N.C. August 9, 2012).*

Inability to name what defendant did what makes it impossible to hold them responsible for a failure to intervene or forced consent search. Bark v. Chacon, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 24928 (10th Cir. December 5, 2012).*

Defendant in a car seen seven blocks from a shots fired call matching the description of the car involved was reasonable suspicion. Statements of counsel alone are insufficient to make a question of fact in this district for a hearing; there must be an affidavit of fact. United States v. Russell, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172206 (S.D. N.Y. November 14, 2012).*

The wrong number for the address of defendant’s place (“34” not “32”) was not a constitutional error. The correct color was shown, and the officers made certain that they entered the correct house when they got there by rechecking with other sources. United States v. Running Shield, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172245 (D. S.D. December 4, 2012).

In an interstate transportation for prostitution case, a search warrant was validly issued for evidence to corroborate the victim’s version of events. A search warrant for sealed evidence bags coming from another state was as particular as it could get. United States v. Campbell, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172246 (D. S.C. December 5, 2012).*

Any errors in the officers’ “smell statistic” of the number of times the smell of marijuana bore fruit at a grow operation were not so material or beyond reckless that they undermined the probable cause. Hamilton v. State, 2012 Alas. App. LEXIS 173 (December 5, 2012).*