In Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266 (2000), the United States Supreme Court examined the use of anonymous tips by police officers. In J.L., the police received an anonymous call that a black male, wearing a plaid shirt, and standing [...]
On Monday February 26, 2007 the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Scott v. Harris, a case stemming from a high-speed pursuit in Coweta County Georgia. Harris, the motorist was speeding through Coweta County which drew the attention [...]
When a police employee acts outside the scope of their employment for purely personal purposes the employer and its insurer will not be liable. A case from the Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2nd Division, decided on April 21st provides [...]
In Maryland v. Pringle, 124 S. Ct. 795 (2003) decided in December of this term, the Supreme Court held that cocaine discovered in the passenger compartment of a vehicle provided probable cause to arrest all three occupants in the vehicle [...]
What is the law enforcement duty to protect citizens from harm caused by third parties? This type of claim arises in a variety of circumstances. For example, police fail to protect a spouse from their violent partner; a hostage is [...]
In Harris v. Coweta County, the United States Court of Appeal for the 11th Circuit analyzed a ramming during a police pursuit under deadly force principles and refused to grant the officer summary judgment or qualified immunity. The supervisor, who [...]
In Rajaee El-Amin v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 2005 Va. LEXIS 17 (2005), the Supreme Court of Virginia considered the authority of a police officer to conduct a pat-down of a subject based upon their association with a subject found to be [...]
Over the last decade police agencies have turned to the use of pepper-spray as an alternative on their use of force options list. While pepper-spray seems to have significantly reduced injuries to suspects caused by impact weapons, pepper-spray has not [...]
Another area being carved out through lawsuits is the use of less-lethal weapons. Although the widespread use of beanbag rounds is fairly new to policing, cases contemplating the propriety of their use have been popping up in the media and [...]
In a 6-2 decision published Jan. 24, the Supreme Court ruled that a dog sniff conducted during a lawful traffic stop that reveals no information other than the location of an unlawful substance does not violate the Fourth Amendment. The [...]