Daily Archives: April 7, 2020

VA: Purported inventory was clearly an investigative search and suppressed

The purported inventory here (shown on video) was an investigative search, and the officer made no effort to comply with the inventory policy, noting nothing and just rummaging around. The paperwork also showed it was “incident to arrest.” Inevitable discovery … Continue reading

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N.D.Ga.: Def doesn’t show that his guilty plea was unknowing as a result of IAC on a 4A claim

“The movant’s unsubstantiated claim that counsel’s mistakes on a Fourth Amendment issue somehow rendered his guilty plea unknowing are insufficient to overcome a record that reflects that the plea was knowing and voluntary.” Hernandez-Rodriguez v. United States, 2020 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading

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N.D.Ind.: Merely saying in a motion to suppress def was arrested without probable cause doesn’t state grounds

Defendant does not offer further context or analysis. Based upon his failure to fully address this issue, the Defendant’s argument regarding an alleged illegal search and seizure is denied without prejudice. See United States v. Collins, 796 F.3d 829, 836 … Continue reading

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W.D.N.C.: Prisoner’s § 1983 strip search case dismissed

Pro se prison inmate plaintiff fails to state claims for § 1983 relief including alleged arbitrary strip searches. With his disciplinary record, they aren’t arbitrary. He’s in a prison, after all. Wright v. United States, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59884 … Continue reading

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CA7: Consenter had apparent authority; no signs she might not have actual authority

Based on all the evidence, the consenter had apparent authority to consent to the search of the house. While she’d supposedly moved out, she had a key and still had stuff there, and the officers had no suggestion that she … Continue reading

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Lawfare: Disease Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment

Lawfare: Disease Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment by Alan Z. Rozenshtein (“Like governments around the world, the United States is struggling with the ‘coronavirus trilemma’: It wants to protect lives, ease social isolation, and protect privacy and civil liberties, but … Continue reading

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OH9: No RS for first dog sniff which was negative, let alone a second

The state claimed that the officers had reasonable suspicion which wasn’t apparent to the court of appeals. Then a drug dog didn’t alert. That’s when the stop should have ended. The request to have a second dog sniff was unreasonable. … Continue reading

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DE: Roadblock to catch fleeing bank robbers was reasonable

Realtime GPS tracking information from a bank money pack taken in a bank robbery led police to a block in Wilmington, Delaware. It was reasonable for the police to cordon off the entire block and seize every car in it … Continue reading

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E.D.N.C.: Excellent discussion of staleness in a CSLI application

The 2017 orders for real time CSLI didn’t satisfy the timeliness requirement for probable cause, and they would be stale. However, back then, the circuit hadn’t approached the holding in Carpenter at all, and the good faith exception would be … Continue reading

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E.D.Va.: No RS at point in stop where officer asked about weapons and for consent; suppressed

There was no reasonable suspicion to extend the stop for the officer’s questions about weapons and consent to search. There was no probable cause for the automobile exception to apply, and the product of the search can’t justify it. Suppression … Continue reading

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MD: SW for car didn’t include cell phone in def’s pocket when stopped

The search warrant for defendant’s car was specific as to the car and it’s contents, but didn’t include a cell phone found in defendant’s pocket when the car was stopped. State v. Zadeh, 2020 Md. LEXIS 173 (Apr. 3, 2020).

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E.D.Wash.: Seizure of e-mails between def and lawyer prior to adversary proceedings didn’t violate 6A

The seizure of defendant’s emails between him and his lawyer didn’t violate the Sixth Amendment when adversary proceedings had not yet begun – defendant wasn’t indicted for more than a year later. United States v. Smith, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading

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