Monthly Archives: April 2023

PA: No standing to challenge Google SW for who searched rape victim’s name before crime

In a home invasion rape case, the state sought from Google search information involving the victim’s name in the 48 hours before the rape, and there were searches for that from defendant’s IP address. Defendant had no reasonable expectation of … Continue reading

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TN: By killing one’s host, guest standing is lost

By attacking and killing his hosts, his parents, defendant lost guest standing, if he would have had it at all. Police conducted a welfare check and found severed body parts in plastic tubs and on the stove, including a head … Continue reading

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CA8: Merely pointing a Taser not a seizure

Pointing a Taser at plaintiff was not a seizure. Pollreis v. Marzolf, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 10269 (8th Cir. Apr. 27, 2023). Even if possession of a firearm in a concealed carry state was not unlawful, smoking marijuana with a … Continue reading

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CA11: Roadside dog sniff during the records check was reasonable and did not extend the stop

A roadside dog sniff during the records check was reasonable even without reasonable suspicion and did not extend the stop. United States v. Ramirez-Rivera, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 10325 (11th Cir. Apr. 27, 2023). On collective knowledge: “As the surveillance … Continue reading

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WY: Inventory policy reasonably permitted opening containers

The inventory policy reasonably permitted opening containers. Beckwith v. State, 2023 WY 39, 2023 Wyo. LEXIS 39 (Apr. 27, 2023). Years after a seizure but still pre-indictment, the plaintiff sought return of property while the government was still investigating. It’s … Continue reading

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D.Kan.: “Indicia of ownership” in a SW not overbroad

Inclusion of “indicia of ownership” of the place searched doesn’t show the warrant was not particular. United States v. Anderson, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73033 (D. Kan. Apr. 26, 2023). Defendant was stopped for a traffic violation, although there was … Continue reading

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D.Kan.: “The opening of the driver’s door had no effect or impact on the dog’s alert.”

“The opening of the driver’s door had no effect or impact on the dog’s alert.” United States v. Anderson, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73033 (D. Kan. Apr. 26, 2023). The facts in the record support the automobile exception as the … Continue reading

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TX: New crime in resisting illegal arrest doesn’t depend on gravity of the new offense

Appellant resisted an illegal patdown and was Tased and charged with obstruction and resisting. A new offense is an intervening circumstance under Brown, and it doesn’t matter whether it is “serious” or not. Massey v. State, 2023 Tex. Crim. App. … Continue reading

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IL4: Despite legalization of possession of small amounts of MJ, dog alert still PC

The drug dog’s “positive alert on the vehicle in this case established a fair probability that drugs or evidence of a crime would be found in the vehicle. This is true despite recent changes in the law regarding the legalization … Continue reading

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MN: Underlying conviction can’t be challenged on 4A grounds

In a driver’s license suspension case, the fact an underlying out of state driving offense was allegedly obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is no defense. It was final. Underhill v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety, 2023 Minn. App. LEXIS … Continue reading

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OH12: Fact LEO broke traffic laws to catch speeder isn’t a 4A reasonableness defense

The fact a police officer arguably broke traffic laws to effect a stop of a fleeing motorist isn’t a defense to a traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment or the state constitution. State v. Johnson, 2023-Ohio-1320, 2023 Ohio App. LEXIS … Continue reading

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OH9: Growing house fire next door was exigency to clear def’s house

Defendant’s next door neighbor’s house caught on fire, and police at the scene acted reasonably in entering his house to clear it when the fire grew and they reasonably feared it would spread to the houses next door. State v. … Continue reading

Posted in Arrest or entry on arrest, Border search, Emergency / exigency, Excessive force, Immigration arrests, Rule 41(g) / Return of property, Standing | Comments Off on OH9: Growing house fire next door was exigency to clear def’s house

AR: Suicide note and no answer at door justified exigent entry

Police responded to a call within minutes of a finding of a suicide note. “One officer called the on-call investigator after knocking on the door and getting no response. It was only then that the officers decided to breach the … Continue reading

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D.Nev.: GFE does not save GPS tracking of additional driver of vehicle

Rubin, a regular driver of defendant’s pickup had standing to challenge a tracking warrant put on it. The issuing judge, however, appears only to have authorized the tracking of Morgan’s use. The court declines to apply the good faith exception. … Continue reading

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NACDL: 4 articles on electronic searches

Clare Harvie, What Defense Counsel Should Know About Facial Recognition Technology, 47 Champion 16 (No. 3, May 2023) Jennifer S. Granick, Marking Warrants Great Again: Avoiding General Searches in the Execution of Warrants for Electronic Data, 47 Champion 28 (No. … Continue reading

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NC: Arrest warrant for def permitted entry into house when he retreated inside; protective sweep valid

Officers had an arrest warrant for defendant for a violent crime, and he was found at home. They saw him outside, and he retreated inside. The SRT showed up too. The entry for the arrest was valid, as was the … Continue reading

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CA8: Omission of fact CI lied about prior murder for hire schemes wasn’t material enough where one recorded ptf

This was a murder for hire scheme. The affiant had good information that the CI was a notorious liar, having falsely alleged other schemes in the past. Here, however, there was “powerful” evidence of probable cause in recordings to back … Continue reading

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CA9: SOL on search claim starts with the search

Case over search dismissed on SOL grounds. Plaintiff on notice from the time of the search. Reyes v. Cty. of Wash., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 9353 (9th Cir. Apr. 19, 2023). The officers obtaining and executing the warrant for defendant’s … Continue reading

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D.Minn.: The affidavit for SW was somewhat conclusory, but the officer’s efforts to corrorobate the CI showed GF

Officers had probable cause for a Facebook tracking warrant to provide information of where he was when he posted about his travels south to acquire fentanyl for sale in Minnesota based on informant hearsay and his two pending drug cases. … Continue reading

Posted in Good faith exception, Informant hearsay | Comments Off on D.Minn.: The affidavit for SW was somewhat conclusory, but the officer’s efforts to corrorobate the CI showed GF

CA7: Renting a condo under an assumed name to avoid arrest doesn’t show no REP; landlord could not consent

Defendant rented a condo in Atlanta, deceiving the landlord by using an assumed name. The landlord consented to a search. The landlord had no power to consent to a search. People rent hotel rooms and apartments and even buy houses … Continue reading

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