Tag: Search and Seizure: Page 2

Patrol

Reasonable Suspicion

In some cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that particular searches and seizures need only "reasonable suspicion" to be constitutional—not the higher justification level of probable cause. What's the difference, and when is reasonable suspicion sufficient?

September 2, 2015

Patrol

Mistake of Law: To Err Is Human

In a series of cases, the court has upheld searches and seizures made by officers who were mistaken in their understanding of the facts they confronted, or as to the law to be applied.

February 27, 2015

Patrol

SCOTUS Rules Evidence Cannot Be Suppressed Just Because an Officer Made a "Reasonable" Traffic Stop Mistake

Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts noted that the keystone of the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable search and seizure is the word "unreasonable." And in this case, the officer's belief that having a broken tail light was illegal counted as a reasonable mistake. The traffic stop and the subsequent consensual search of the car were therefore also reasonable.

December 16, 2014

Patrol

New Bill Would Require NYPD to Get Suspect's Search Consent

Members of New York City's City Council are introducing a bill that would force police officers to get written or audio permission from a suspect before they could conduct a search.

November 14, 2014

Patrol

The 5 Biggest Search-and-Seizure Myths

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court made the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule binding on the states in the 1961 decision in Mapp v. Ohio, thousands of published decisions from state and federal courts have applied the exclusionary rule to thousands of searches and seizures. It's no wonder the 50-year tidal wave of exclusionary decisions has left confusion and misunderstanding in its wake. Here are five areas of the law that seem to suffer the most in translation.

November 11, 2014

Patrol

Pa. Court Rules on Warrantless Vehicle Searches

The Pennsylvania state Supreme Court ruled last week that police are allowed to search vehicles without a warrant. The split-decision from the Supreme Court allows police to conduct searches of cars based only on probable cause.

May 14, 2014

Patrol

Supreme Court to Hear Cases of Cell Phone Searches

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, will hear cases involving search of personal cell phones incident to arrest.

April 27, 2014

Patrol

Chasing Misdemeanants

Some search-and-seizure rules are not very clear, and state and local federal courts might apply them differently. How can you be expected to pick and choose the right rule on an issue for which there doesn't seem to be just one "right" rule?

January 5, 2014

Technology

Calif. Law Requires Juvenile Interrogation Videotaping

A new California law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday requires police agencies to videotape interrogations of juvenile suspects in homicide cases to prevent false confessions.

October 14, 2013

Training

Video: Fla. Officer Suspended In Bra Search

The Lakeland (Fla.) Police officer who told a woman to shake out her bra for drugs received a one-day suspension. Officer Dustin Fetz must also complete re-training in arrest, search and seizure laws and procedures, and complete an in-depth research project.

September 26, 2013

Special Units

SCOTUS To Hear Co-Tenant Search Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a California case involving a suspect arrested by police after his girlfriend allowed officers to search the couple's apartment.

September 5, 2013

Patrol

Judge Awards $4M To Calif. Couple Shot by Deputies

A federal judge awarded a Lancaster couple $4 million Tuesday for injuries they suffered when two Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies shot them during a parolee search.

August 14, 2013