The United States Supreme Court overturned the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in a police shooting case based on the manner in which the 5th Circuit analyzed the case. The case, Tolan v. Cotton, deals with the manner [...]

Law enforcement officers shooting into vehicle following an initial pursuit and to prevent a further pursuit did not violate the Fourth Amendment. [i] The United States Supreme Court outlined the facts of Plumhoff v. Rickard as follows: Near midnight on July 18, [...]

In Navarette v. California [i] the United States Supreme Court examined the validity of a vehicle stop based upon an anonymous 911 caller’s report that the vehicle in question had just run the caller off the road.    The issue before the Court [...]

In Fernandez v. California [i], the United States Supreme Court clarified language from Georgia v. Randolph [ii], where it was held that officers could not enter a home based on consent when co-occupants were on the scene and one of the co-occupants was consenting while [...]

Officers have generally been able to continue their pursuit where an officer has probable cause to believe that a suspect has committed a crime and the officer is right on the suspect’s heels. In these cases the officer is not [...]

In Salinas v. Texas, the United States Supreme Court considered whether a prosecutor could comment on a suspect’s reaction when questioned by law enforcement in a circumstance where the suspect was not in custody and had not been Mirandized.  At the outset [...]

In Missouri v. McNeely, [i] the United States Supreme Court examined the constitutionality of a forced blood draw on a person who had refused a breathalyzer test.   The Court outlined the facts as follows: ` While on highway patrol at approximately [...]

In Florida v. Harris [i] the United States Supreme Court applied the totality of circumstances approach to the determination that a law enforcement K-9 was reliable with respect to sniff-alerts for narcotics and rejected the Florida Supreme Court’s much stricter requirements for [...]

©2012 Jack Ryan, Attorney, PATC Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) In Ryburn v. Huff [i] the United States Supreme Court examined a lawsuit which was brought against officers of the Burbank, California Police Department.  The officers were investigating a [...]

©2012 Jack Ryan, Attorney, PATC Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) In Bobby v. Dixon, [i] the United States Supreme Court reviewed a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit involving the use of a confession [...]