Monthly Archives: March 2023

NYT: Bad facial recognition match

NYT: Police Relied on Hidden Technology and Put the Wrong Person in Jail by Kashmir Hill and Ryan Mac (“Randal Reid spent nearly a week in confinement, falsely accused of stealing purses in a state he said he had never … Continue reading

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NY Richmond Co.: Mere possession of a cell phone while committing an assault isn’t PC for the phone

Defendant’s possession of a cell phone at the time of his allegedly committing an assault was not probable cause to search the phone. Motion to suppress granted as to it. People v. Vergara, 2023 NY Slip Op 23083, 2023 N.Y. … Continue reading

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VA: Two Black men walking in residential area at night near a crime wasn’t RS

Walking while black at night in a residential area near where a crime reported wasn’t enough to stop them. There was nothing suggested they did anything. Turay v. Commonwealth, 2023 Va. App. LEXIS 205 (Mar. 21, 2023) (unpublished):

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WaPo: U.S. warrant requirement for surveillance program could hamper cyber cases, FBI official warns

WaPo: U.S. warrant requirement for surveillance program could hamper cyber cases, FBI official warns (“A top FBI official said Wednesday that a warrant requirement being floated for a controversial expiring surveillance program would be a big impediment to cyber investigations. … Continue reading

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Reason: Senators Ask DEA To Stop Buying Its Way Around Civil Liberties

Reason: Senators Ask DEA To Stop Buying Its Way Around Civil Liberties by Elizabeth Nolan Brown (“‘DEA agents were regularly paying for and receiving private customer information.’ Rather than obtain a warrant for some mailed packages or consumer travel data, … Continue reading

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N.D.Ala.: Wrong street number in a SW didn’t void it where house was well described and officers had been there before

The wrong street number on the search warrant did not make it invalid. Officers knew the house from surveillance, and it was described. The right house was searched. “So, the erroneous street number did not make the warrant invalid.” Threatt … Continue reading

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SC: DL checkpoint was reasonable

Murder case: A highway checkpoint with four officers to check DLs, registration, and insurance was valid under Prouse, Sitz, and Edmund. No suggestion it was for general crime control. State v. Jones, 2023 S.C. LEXIS 61 (Mar. 29, 2023). Defendant … Continue reading

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E.D.Mich.: 13 day delay between trash pull and SW didn’t mean it was stale because case was actively investigated

A 13 day delay between a trash pull and a search warrant didn’t make the trash pull stale. There was an ongoing investigation throughout. United States v. Dobbs, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52882 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 28, 2023). District court’s … Continue reading

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CA11: Change in strategy doesn’t excuse untimely motion to suppress

With second counsel, defendant filed a second motion to suppress apparently based on new strategy about how to approach one. The different strategy is not “good cause” based on newly discovered facts. United States v. Vazquez, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS … Continue reading

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S.D.N.Y.: The exclusionary rule doesn’t apply in § 1983 cases

The exclusionary rule doesn’t apply in § 1983 cases. Villafane v. City of N.Y., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52149 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 27, 2023). There was probable cause for the search warrant for defendant’s DNA. United States v. Burkhalter, 2023 U.S. … Continue reading

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MA: Horizontal collective knowledge requires officers communicate with each other

Horizontal collective knowledge in Massachusetts requires the officers communicate with each other and share information. Commonwealth v. Privette, 2023 Mass. LEXIS 86 (Mar. 28, 2023):

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W.D.N.C.: 2255 claim of merely failing to investigate a search claim doesn’t state a post-conviction claim

2255 petition’s claim that defense counsel failed to investigate whether a motion to suppress should have been filed fails. There was a search warrant, and there’s no suggestion it was invalid. Fluid v. United States, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51173 … Continue reading

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OH3: Threat to get a SW didn’t coerce consent where there was PC for one

Defendant was alleged to have consented to a blood draw in a DUI case. When he hesitated, the officer said that he’d get a search warrant if defendant didn’t go through with it. There’s a difference between the officer saying … Continue reading

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E.D.La.: Failure to cross-examination searching officers more wouldn’t change outcome

In a long super-detailed 2254 habeas, defendant loses on all issues. As to failure to cross-examine even more the searching officer about the details of execution of the search warrant, it was speculative that it would conceivably change the outcome. … Continue reading

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CO: LEOs didn’t expand on private search

A private party found video of a sexual assault on defendant’s computer and provided it to law enforcement. A search warrant wasn’t needed for law enforcement to view that file. People v. Morse, 2023 COA 27, 2023 Colo. App. LEXIS … Continue reading

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S.D.W.Va.: This border search of cell phone was routine, despite taking 4 hours

The border search of defendant’s cell phone was routine and reasonable and didn’t need reasonable suspicion. He provided the passcode, and the phone was on airplane mode so it did not go outside the phone. United States v. Tick Chin, … Continue reading

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CA7: Prima facie Franks violation made not disclosing CI’s motives; remanded

Defendant made his prima facie case of a Franks violation, and he was entitled to a hearing. The informants were involved in a love quadrangle not revealed to the warrant issuing judge. Analyzing the affidavit sentence by sentence, the omissions … Continue reading

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OH7: Officer seeing sawed-off shotgun in car door justified questions under Quarles

Defendant was stopped and got out of his car, and in the door was a sawed off shotgun. Questions about the gun next to him were legitimate under Quarles. State v. Anderson, 2023-Ohio-945, 2023 Ohio App. LEXIS 922 (7th Dist. … Continue reading

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D.N.M.: Possession of a gun in car in Walmart parking lot wasn’t a crime and search for it under community caretaking function unreasonable

Police were called to a Walmart parking lot in Albuquerque because defendant was “unconscious” in his car in his car, and a gun was visible. The seizure of the gun and the interrogation surrounding it can’t be justified under the … Continue reading

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D.N.M.: Search warrants are directed at places, not persons; offender need not be mentioned

Search warrants are directed at places, not persons. “Because, at the time of the oral affidavit, there was a fair probability the crime of kidnapping occurred and a fair probability evidence of that crime would be found in Defendant’s home … Continue reading

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