United States v. Campbell, No. 16-10128 (11th Cir. January 8, 2019) Held:  A stop is unlawfully prolonged when an officer, without reasonable suspicion, diverts from the stop's purpose and adds time to the stop in order to investigate other crimes. [...]

On January 4, 2019, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Awnings v. Fullerton et al.[i], which serves as an excellent review of Constitutional law pertaining to false arrest, excessive force and denial of medical treatment. The relevant facts of [...]

On January 8, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Torres[i], in which the court examined whether the federal statute that prohibits unlawful aliens from possessing firearms violated the Second Amendment. The relevant facts of [...]

On January 7, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Debona[i], in which the court examined whether Debona was the subjected to an illegal detention or a consensual encounter. The relevant facts of Debona are [...]

On December 14, 2018, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Lyles[i], in which the court examined whether the discovery of three marijuana stems in trash bags in front of Lyles home was sufficient probable cause [...]

On December 10, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Charlot v. City of Houston, et al.[i], in which the court examined whether officers were entitled to qualified immunity when they requested and obtained a body cavity search warrant [...]

On December 21, 2018, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Bey[i], in which the court examined whether officers violated the Fourth Amendment when they continued to detain a suspect after seeing that he did not [...]

On December 10, 2018, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Pope[i], in which the court examined whether officers violated the Fourth Amendment when they conducted a stop and frisk of a man that they observed [...]

Author’s Note: The United States Supreme Court has issued other decisions on the issue of involuntarily blood draws on suspected DUI suspects.  Before doing a blood draw without a warrant, an officer must determine the category in which the driver [...]

On December 21, 2018, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Lowe et al. v. Smith et al.[i], in which the court examined whether officers violated the Fourth Amendment when they entered a residence without a warrant in response to [...]