Tag: Legal Perspectives

Point of Law

Legal Experts: SRO Charged with Neglect in Parkland Massacre Has Strong Defense

"There's no crime called refusing to die while a mass murderer is in your school," said Eugene O'Donnell, a former New York City police officer and prosecutor.

June 7, 2019

Patrol

Your Skin is in the Game

When policymakers implement ridiculous rules that get people hurt, LEOs are the ones who have to deal with the consequences.

May 3, 2018

Patrol

Who Really Should Take De-Escalation Training?

It’s not the police, it’s the public who are ignorant of the law and need additional civil rights and civil responsibility education.

August 12, 2016

Patrol

How To Tell When You Need a Search Warrant

POLICE

While it's always best to have a piece of paper to back you up in court, sometimes shortcuts are OK.

January 24, 2013

Patrol

How To Justify Officer Safety Searches

POLICE

Know the limits of your authority to protect yourself—physically and legally.

January 23, 2013

Patrol

Vehicle Searches: Incident to Arrest

After Apr. 19, officers and agencies could incur liability for vehicle searches incident to arrest that do not fall within the Gant guidelines.

May 31, 2009

Patrol

Updating Weapons Frisks

Although it's common to see the term "stop and frisk," it's possible that there might be justification for a stop, but not for a frisk.

March 31, 2009

Patrol

Official Misinformation

What the exclusionary rule has actually meant in practice is that thousands (maybe millions) of criminals have been able to stop the prosecution from using critical evidence of their guilt to hold them accountable for their crimes.

February 28, 2009

Patrol

Keeping up with Case Law

Much of what I learned in basic academy in the late 1960s is no longer good law. If I were still operating on the basis of 40-year-old understandings, I wouldn't be very effective.

October 31, 2008

Patrol

Entrapment

"The first duties of the officers of the law are to prevent, not to punish crime. It is not their duty to incite to and create crime for the sole purpose of prosecuting and punishing it." — U.S. Supreme Court, Sorrells v. U.S.

September 30, 2008

Patrol

How to Tell When You Need a Search Warrant

The general rule-of-thumb is to try to get a warrant whenever possible. On the other hand, if you can seize evidence without engaging in a search, you don't need either a warrant or any exception.

February 29, 2008

Patrol

Residential Entry After Outdoors Arrest

There are four ways to make a lawful entry into a private home. Notice that "entry incident to outdoors arrest" is not on the list of lawful ways to get inside a residence. In three separate cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has held such entries to be unconstitutional.

January 31, 2008