Category Archives: Consent

D.S.C.: Police and issuing magistrate having same address doesn’t make judge not neutral and detached

Just because the issuing magistrate and the police department share the same address does not prove that the magistrate was not neutral and detached. More is required. Lafoy v. O’Brien, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 190411 (D.S.C. Aug. 18, 2025). “Even … Continue reading →

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TX2: Asking for consent four times doesn’t make it coercive

The fact defendant was asked four times for consent doesn’t make it coercive. Arnold v. State, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 7228 (Tex. App. – Ft. Worth Sep. 11, 2025). Velez finally contends that no reasonable officer could have concluded that … Continue reading →

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W.D.Wash.: Hiding a small pouch in another’s car was not abandonment; he retained a REP

Defendant’s hiding a small pouch in another person’s car was not abandonment. He otherwise manifested a reasonable expectation of privacy in it. United States v. Jensen, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170474 (W.D. Wash. Sep. 2, 2025). Defendant’s encounter with the … Continue reading →

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E.D.Cal.: Excessive prison strip search sufficiently alleged

Prison strip search: “Here, liberally construed, it appears plaintiff may be able to state a Fourth Amendment claim against the defendants who stripped plaintiff naked where it is alleged that plaintiff was brought to the ASU from the program office … Continue reading →

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MD: Pretext inquiry under state constitution same as 4A

Appellant shows no basis for construing pretextual stops under the state constitution differently than the Fourth Amendment. Riley v. State, 2025 Md. App. LEXIS 727 (Aug. 27, 2025).* Defendant’s encounter with the officer here after one with mall security was … Continue reading →

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D.N.M.: Def’s consent to search vehicle permitted partial dismantling and use of x-ray

Defendant’s consent to a full search of his vehicle included dismantling parts of it and using a portable x-ray to look in closed spaces. United States v. Talamante-Sanchez, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168814 (D.N.M. Aug. 29, 2025). Plaintiff sovereign citizen’s … Continue reading →

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NJ: Seeing def enter phone passcode in officer’s presence wasn’t unreasonable seizure

Officer seeing defendant enter cell phone passcode violated no reasonable expectation of privacy or Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. State v. Ellison, 2025 N.J. Super. LEXIS 60 (Aug. 19, 2025). Update: NJ Panel Upholds Use Of Phone Passcode Seen By … Continue reading →

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CA8: Consent still found although def had to be wrestled to be handcuffed because of gun involved

Defendant was a Greyhound passenger from LA to KC, and a dog got a whiff of his fanny pack and alerted. He admitted marijuana was in the bag. Then a gun, which led to a struggle when he wouldn’t keep … Continue reading →

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OH6: Refusing consent to search cell phone can’t be sentencing aggravator

Defendant had a constitutional right to refuse consent to search his cell phone, and the trial court erred by considering that as an aggravating factor in sentencing. State v. Dawes, 2025-Ohio-2576, 2025 Ohio App. LEXIS 2500 (6th Dist. July 22, … Continue reading →

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D.C.Cir.: Officer saying he had “warrants” required remand for whether consent was mere acquiescence

The district court erred in not considering whether defendant acquiesced in consenting to a search. The officer said he had “warrants,” but there was no clarification whether it was an arrest warrant or search warrant. Reversed. United States v. Glover, … Continue reading →

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CA3: Driveway was not curtilage

Defendant’s driveway was not curtilage, so his stop and ultimate search of the car was not in violation of the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Moses, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 16484 (3d Cir. July 3, 2025). De minimis force, even … Continue reading →

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KS: There’s a statutory right of def to SW affidavits

A person accused has a statutory right of access to search warrant affidavits in his own case. “The applicable provisions state only that the documents ‘shall be made available’ to defendants ‘when requested,’ without specifying to whom the request should … Continue reading →

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ID: Flicking a cigarette butt to the ground in a bar parking lot was not RS

Flicking a cigarette butt to the ground in a bar parking lot was not reasonable suspicion for a stop. State v. Popp, 2025 Ida. LEXIS 69 (June 27, 2025). Idaho declines to impose higher standards for dog sniffs under state … Continue reading →

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S.D.Tex.: Judge shopping SW request noted, and denied again

It appears to this USMJ that the government is judge shopping. After denial of a warrant request, the government reapplied which was first assigned to another USMJ who transferred it here. Rejected again for the same reason. Defect not cured. … Continue reading →

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TX5: Failure to swear an oath or affirmation before the issuing judge was fatal to warrant

Failure to swear an oath or affirmation before the issuing judge was fatal to this warrant. He signed it but didn’t acknowledge swearing to it. “the Court of Criminal Appeals has specifically explained that ‘to convey the solemnity and critical … Continue reading →

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CA8: In a consent search of a car, picking up cell phone and seeing lit screen wasn’t an unreasonable search

“Did Trooper Rorie’s 20 seconds of questioning and request for consent prolong the stop beyond the time needed to complete the remaining tasks of the traffic stop? We hold that it did not. The brief duration of the inquiry within … Continue reading →

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D.C.Cir.: Ptf stated 1A retaliation claim over civil investigative demand

Media Matters stated a claim in D.C. for First Amendment retaliation by the Texas Attorney General’s civil investigative demand for records based on not liking their reporting. Injunction affirmed. Media Matters for America v. Paxton, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 13155 … Continue reading →

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D.Kan.: Can invoke Randolph objection to consent without objecting

Defendant’s live-in girlfriend consented to a search of their apartment when he was arrested and removed. He can’t invoke Randolph because he never objected. United States v. Lee, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100923 (D. Kan. May 28, 2025). Defendant’s refusal … Continue reading →

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MT: Use of a flashlight to look in a parked car was not 4A violation

Police use of a flashlight to look in a car in a parking lot the officer was interested in because the operator was on probation was reasonable. State v. Roberts, 2025 MT 110, 2025 Mont. LEXIS 567 (May 27, 2025). … Continue reading →

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MI: Taking and searching def’s cell phone after DA’s interview was not by consent

Defendant was questioned under a prosecutor’s subpoena, and they decided to take his phone to search it. The state’s argument of consent fails because he was told they were taking it and had probable cause but they didn’t. People v. … Continue reading →

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