Category Archives: Uncategorized

The sixth edition of this book is at the publisher

The manuscript is in (all 7,500 single spaced pages), and the sixth edition of this book is at the publisher. Publication in December.

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The Scopes trial was 100 years ago today

LA Times: When Darrow took on Bryan 100 years ago today, science got the win. Or did it? by Randall Balmer

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UT: Merely possible is not sufficient for inevitable discovery to apply

Merely possible is not sufficient for inevitable discovery to apply. State v. Abonza, 2025 UT App 101, 2025 Utah App. LEXIS 102 (July 3, 2025). Based on collective knowledge, there was probable cause for defendant’s stop. Morris v. State, 2025 … Continue reading

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LawFare: Tracing the Origins of a ‘New American Surveillance State’

LawFare: Tracing the Origins of a ‘New American Surveillance State’ by Sarah Lamdan (“A review of Byron Tau, ‘Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State’ (Crown, 2024)”)

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D.N.M.: Backyard is curtilage

Defendant’s backyard is curtilage, and the entry suppressed. United States v. Ringleb, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75030 (D.N.M. Apr. 18, 2025). The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) Police Department conducted an entry under the basic lease agreement that permitted “‘a … Continue reading

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OT

Suppose persons accused with high sentencing exposure opt for a trial because they fear being deported to CECOT even if they are natural born citizens? I had such a call Friday.

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Paul Revere’s ride was 250 years ago tonight

Per Wikipedia.

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NYC Formal Opinion 2025-1: A government lawyer may refuse a superior’s order to lie in court.

NYC Bar Formal Opinion 2025-1: A government lawyer may refuse a superior’s order to lie in court. “May” not “shall.” So, what about the ethical duty to report the superior for requesting the lie?

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D.Md.: Is product of SW for Md. home of Jan.6 def leading to FIPF case covered by Jan.6 pardon?

Does defendant’s January 20, 2025 pardon for being a Jan. 6th Capitol defendant cover his being charged with being a felon in possession in his home when a search warrant for the Jan. 6th case was executed at his house? … Continue reading

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OT

For those of us with a love-hate relationship with the USPS, which can’t seem to come to my office but 2-3 days a week and mail between two addresses downtown takes 2-5 days, consider this: Anticipating huge tariffs, I bought … Continue reading

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OH2: Officer could pursue across jurisdictional lines

The officer had territorial jurisdiction to stop and arrest defendant after he fled across jurisdictional lines. The officer was in hot pursuit. Also, a motion to dismiss isn’t the remedy. State v. Letts, 2025-Ohio-1085, 2025 Ohio App. LEXIS 1033 (2d … Continue reading

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MA: Weapon found in a Terry frisk can be seized

In a Terry frisk where a weapon is reasonably suspected, the officer has the authority to seize it until he knows what’s going on. Commonwealth v. Crowder, 2025 Mass. LEXIS 130 (Mar. 25, 2025):

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Courthouse News Service: Obscurity shrouds state court rulings

Courthouse News Service: Obscurity shrouds state court rulings by Bill Girdner (“Rulings and judgments in state courts are falling into obscurity. A simple filter would open that work product to public view.”)

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The Marshall Project: Mississippi’s No-Knock Raids Have Led to Death and Injury. Dozens of Warrants Lacked Clear Justification.

The Marshall Project: Mississippi’s No-Knock Raids Have Led to Death and Injury. Dozens of Warrants Lacked Clear Justification. (“During a 2015 no-knock drug raid in Mississippi’s rural northeast corner, sheriff’s deputies shot and killed 57-year-old Ricky Keeton after he came … Continue reading

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N.D.Miss.: Summers didn’t support transporting person to jail whose house was being searched

Plaintiff’s house was searched on a warrant. There was no probable cause as to him at the time. It was unreasonable under Summers to transport him in handcuffs to the jail to be questioned for five hours and then released. … Continue reading

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DoJ: Knowing false arrest leads to federal civil rights conviction

DoJ: Former Nye County Captain Pleads Guilty To Federal Civil Rights Violation And Wire Fraud (Mar. 12, 2025)

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Law.com: Geofencing, High Tech Surveillance and the Future of the Fourth Amendment

Law.com: Geofencing, High Tech Surveillance and the Future of the Fourth Amendment

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This blog is 22 years old today

See the post from the 20th Anniversary.

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“A Fourth Amendment Press Clause,” in National Security, Journalism, and Law in an Age of Information Warfare, Ethics, National Security, and the Rule of Law (2024)

Hannah Bloch-Wehba, “A Fourth Amendment Press Clause,” in Marc Ambinder, Jennifer R. Henrichsen, and Connie Rosati (eds), National Security, Journalism, and Law in an Age of Information Warfare, Ethics, National Security, and the Rule of Law (New York, 2024; online … Continue reading

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W.D.N.Y.: CA2’s deciding search issue in direct appeal with GFE, too, did not violate “party presentation” rule

The Second Circuit upheld the search in this case and threw in an alternative ground, the good faith exception. On habeas, that did not violate the “party presentation” rule where the parties decide the issues to litigate, not the court. … Continue reading

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