911 caller not anonymous tipster when police call her back to get more information

A person who calls 911 and can be identified by her telephone number, identifies herself as a neighbor’s daughter, and police were able to call her back was not an anonymous tipster because she made herself responsible for the veracity of the information. United States v. Thompson, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13183 (N.D. Okla. February 26, 2007):

n1 Defendant refers to this female caller as an anonymous tipster. The Court finds that, although the female caller’s name is unknown, she is not an anonymous tipster. The female caller identified herself as the daughter of the woman who lived at 4686 North Main Street. Further, she appears to have provided the police with her phone number (or at least the police had a record of her phone number) because they were able to contact her after the initial call. While the police did not know the female caller’s name, they had sufficient information to determine her identity. In this way, the caller was not anonymous and could be held responsible if her allegations turned out to be fabricated. See Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266, 270 (2000)(“Unlike a tip from a known informant whose reputation can be assessed and who can be held responsible if her allegations turn out to fabricated, … an anonymous tip alone seldom demonstrates the informant’s basis of knowledge or veracity.”).

Congress’s authority to establish post offices does not provide exclusive federal authority over search of mail such that state regulators over untaxed tobacco cannot search mail shipments of tobacco products to a federally recognized Indian tribe. Keweenaw Bay Indian Community v. Rising, 477 F.3d 881(6th Cir. February 28, 2007).

Search incident of bag on which defendant was lying before arrest was valid although he was handcuffed and moved to another part of the room at the time of the search. United States v. Derrick, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4398 (11th Cir. February 27, 2007)* (unpublished).

Dispute of fact on excessive force in throwing plaintiff to the ground during an arrest or nudging him to get down precluded summary judgment. David v. Hageman, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13358 (C.D. Ill. February 27, 2007).*

Abandoning a firearm while fleeing arrest is not the product of a seizure under Hodari D. United States v. Billups, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13311 (N.D. N.Y. February 26, 2007). Here, guilt is another question:

Applying Hodari D. and Swindle to the facts of this case leads to the inescapable conclusion that Defendant was not seized for purposes of the Fourth Amendment until the police officers tackled him. Thus, the firearm, which Defendant abandoned before the officers tackled him, is not a product of a Fourth Amendment seizure. Accordingly, the Court denies Defendant’s motion to suppress the gun which the K-9 search uncovered beneath a plastic garbage bag. n2

n2 The Court notes, however, that, based upon the facts adduced at the suppression hearing, in particular the fact that the firearm was not swabbed for prints and, therefore, there is no evidence that Defendant ever handled the firearm, and the fact that none of the witnesses were able to explain how the firearm, which Defendant allegedly tossed as he was running, ended up beneath a garbage bag, the Court has some reservations about whether the Government will be able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that this gun was in Defendant’s possession at the time of the incidents in question.