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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeApril 1, 2010

Miranda Wording

One indication of the enduring misunderstanding of the Miranda jurisprudence is the fact that after 44 years, state and federal courts continue to litigate the adequacy of dozens of variations of the particular wording used by officers - and continue to get reversed by the Supreme Court.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeMarch 2, 2010

Justifying Temporary Detentions

When a marked police car pulls into a high-crime area and people start running away for no apparent reason, this is reasonable suspicion to stop them.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeFebruary 5, 2010

The "Emergency Aid Doctrine"

Officers can enter when it reasonably appears someone inside may need emergency aid, regardless of the officers' actual, subjective motivations for going inside.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeJanuary 20, 2010

Beware of False Headlines

So far, the U.S. Supreme Court has left it to the states and the federal appellate circuits to make their own rulings on the issue of whether officers may make a stop to investigate a reported drunk driver, without having any independent observations to corroborate the anonymous tip. This has led to a split of authority on the issue.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeDecember 14, 2009

Premature Miranda Warnings

Give Miranda warnings just before commencement of apparent custodial police interrogation-not sooner. Leave Hollywood tactics to the actors.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeNovember 19, 2009

In-Home Arrest Searches

With reasonable suspicion that someone on the premises might endanger officers during the arrest or as they departed, officers could conduct a "protective sweep" of the entire premises, looking only into areas where a person could be concealed.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeOctober 19, 2009

Public School Searches

Public school officials are entitled to search the student if there are reasonable grounds for suspecting the student of violating the law or any school rule. But once law enforcement officers become involved, higher justification standards will apply.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeSeptember 17, 2009

The Whole World is Watching

Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and thousands of other social networking Websites carry information that can be accessed by criminals and their attorneys, as well as by employers.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeAugust 7, 2009

Sixth Amendment Waivers

It will now be possible for law enforcement officers to attempt to obtain a waiver and an admissible statement from a defendant without running afoul of the Sixth Amendment.

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Articlesby Devallis RutledgeJuly 22, 2009

Sixth Amendment Revisited

Plaintiffs’ attorneys may now seek to maintain lawsuits against officers and their agencies for eliciting incriminating statements from a defendant in certain situations.

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