Category Archives: Prison and jail searches

CA4: Def gets remand of unexplained warrantless search condition on supervised release

The condition of supervised release that defendant submit to warrantless searches wasn’t explained to him or justified. Remanded. United States v. Davila, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 12714 (4th Cir. May 23, 2023). Plaintiff’s driving, observed by an officer and caught … Continue reading

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CA6: Officer firing gun at a person he or she doesn’t know fired one, too, is excessive

Officers fired at plaintiff without knowing whether he was the one who fired a gun at them. The sound of racking a bullet into a gun’s chamber in the abstract was not enough. LeFtwich v. Driscoll, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS … Continue reading

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W.D.Mich.: Prison CAT scan for contraband was reasonable

A prison CAT scan for contraband was less intrusive than a strip or body cavity search, so it was reasonable. Pouncy v. Bush, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78217 (W.D. Mich. May 4, 2023). Reasonable suspicion for a traffic violation to … Continue reading

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CA3: Rule 41(g) order not appealable when property involved in criminal process

Denial of petitioner’s Rule 41(g) motion for return of property was not appealable when the property is tied up in the criminal process. It is not an exclusionary rule, and it remains available even if the government doesn’t plan on … Continue reading

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ID: Drug dog putting feet on car door and window during stiff was a trespass on the chattel and the search should have been suppressed

A warrantless Fourth Amendment “search” occurred when the police drug-sniffing dog trespassed against defendant’s vehicle for the purpose of obtaining information about, or related to, the vehicle. When the dog approached the driver’s side on his second pass, he clearly … Continue reading

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S.D.Ind.: 911 response to stabbing call had report of others inside; that was exigency

The officer arrived at plaintiff’s house because of a 911 call about a stabbing. A man who had been stabbed was outside and he said it happened inside and there were others. That justified the officer’s entry into the house. … Continue reading

Posted in Emergency / exigency, Prison and jail searches, Qualified immunity, Strip search | Comments Off on S.D.Ind.: 911 response to stabbing call had report of others inside; that was exigency

OH4: When officer couldn’t find source of strong smell of MJ, he could search again under 4A

The officer encountered a strong smell of marijuana and searched the car for it coming up “empty.” He reviewed the video in the car and searched again. This one continuous effort and separate justification wasn’t needed. Suppression order reversed. State … Continue reading

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CA5: Mandatory GPS monitoring of charter boats arbitrary under legislation invoked for it

A rule for mandatory GPS monitoring on all charter boats in the Gulf of Mexico, whether used commercially or for personal use at the time, was arbitrarily adopted in violation of the APA. GPS monitoring furthers no government interest under … Continue reading

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KY: SW not required for medical question answers at book-in

Defendant had only a limited privacy interest in his medical records from questions asked during the book-in process at jail. Getting his medical information was incident to his detention for his arrest for a fatal collision that killed a police … Continue reading

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D.N.J.: Civilly committed for NGBRI verdicts have no 4A rights in their cells

The civilly committed for NGBRI verdicts have no Fourth Amendment against cell searches. Lopez v. CEO of Ancora Psychiatric Hosp., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12248 (D.N.J. Jan. 24, 2023), citing Glazewski v. Barnett, 2022 WL 2046921, at *3-4 (D.N.J. June … Continue reading

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D.N.J.: No 6A right to have counsel present at execution of a DNA warrant in the jail

There is no Sixth Amendment right for counsel to be present when a DNA sample is taken from defendant at the jail by warrant. United States v. Hubbard, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3661 (D.N.J. Jan. 9, 2023). CBP had reasonable … Continue reading

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IL: Officers executing SW lawfully seized gun in plain view

The trial court erred in suppressing evidence. The officers were lawfully on the premises with a warrant when a gun was seen in plain view. People v. Serrato, 2023 IL App (2d) 220100, 2023 Ill. App. LEXIS 3 (Jan. 6, … Continue reading

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CA6: Plastic bag on car console wasn’t obviously “dope” to justify automobile exception

The government argued that the search of defendant’s car was justified by the automobile exception because contraband was in plain view. The court disagrees. There was a plastic bag on the console, and the photographic evidence from inside the car … Continue reading

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SC Const. search and seizure and privacy provision protects abortion rights; Idaho says theirs doesn’t

The state 1971 constitutional amendment recognizing a right to privacy was really enacting what the people always believed about privacy. It provides: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches … Continue reading

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D.Minn.: Involuntary civil detainees in a sex offender program have no REP in their rooms

Involuntary civil detainees in a sex offender program have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their rooms. White v. Dayton, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71 (D. Minn. Jan. 3, 2023). Habeas petitioner’s claim that a bad photo ID led to … Continue reading

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MD: RS is based on an objective test

“[T]he totality of the circumstances assessment to determine the existence of reasonable articulable suspicion is and remains an objective test.” Flight can also be consistent with innocence. Washington v. State, 2022 Md. LEXIS 524 (Dec. 19, 2022). Reasonable suspicion developed … Continue reading

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CA6: Violation of Robert’s Rules of Order prior to ptf’s arrest not a constitutional violation

Plaintiff was arrested for disorderly conduct for disrupting a public meeting after repeatedly being told to shut up. His claim that his ejection from the meeting and then the arrest violated Robert’s Rules of Order isn’t a constitutional claim. Burton … Continue reading

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E.D.Ark.: Inmate states claim against Sheriff and jail phone provider that privileged attorney calls were turned over to police

Plaintiff Texas inmate was in an Arkansas county jail in 2015-17, and he discovered in 2021 through his current defense lawyer that the county jail phone contractor turned over telephone calls between him and his criminal defense lawyer to the … Continue reading

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E.D.N.Y.: A single incident of legal mail being opened in jail doesn’t state a claim

A single incident of legal mail being opened before it got to plaintiff in a county jail doesn’t state a constitutional violation. Braithwaite v. Suffolk Cty. N.Y., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204233 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 9, 2022). There is no reasonable … Continue reading

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NC: Not plain error for officer to read from SW affidavit at trial

The officer’s reading from the search warrant affidavit at trial because it contained hearsay may have been error, but it wasn’t plain error. Defendant was free to cross-examine on all of that to mitigate prejudice [if he could]. State v. … Continue reading

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