On July 15, 2020, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reheard the United States v. Curry[i], in which the court examined whether a stop of a person near the scene of a “shots fired” call, was reasonable under the “special [...]

The Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Allen v. City of Atlanta,[i] in which the court sided with an officer who was suspended without pay for a shooting in which a passenger in a car was accidentally shot when the [...]

In Williams v. Boehrer,[i] the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals examined whether two deputies that shot a man with a knife were entitled to official immunity from suit under state law. The relevant facts of Williams, taken directly from the [...]

  In Lombardo v. St. Louis,[i]  the United States Supreme Court considered decisions by a Federal District Court as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit and overturned the lower courts’ decisions to dismiss the [...]

On June 11, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Yarbrough[i], which serves as an excellent review of the law related to protective sweeps of residences.  In Yarbrough, a detective received “unverified, anonymous phone calls [...]

On June 8, 2020, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Morales[i], which serves as an excellent review of the law related to the “scope” of an investigation. The relevant facts of Morales, taken directly from [...]

On June 23, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Lange v. California.[i]  The issue before the court was whether the pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect categorically allowed the police to enter the suspect’s residence without a [...]

Much has been discussed in national news recently about police shooting suspects who are running away.  The media rarely provides their audience insight about the Constitutional law that applies in such situations.   This often leaves the public outraged because they [...]

On May 28, 2020, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Zuress v. City of Newark[i], in which the court examined whether a canine officer’s decision to release his dog and the dog's delay in releasing the bite, violated the [...]

On May 28, 2020, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Ruffin[i], which serves as an excellent review of the three levels of officer citizen encounters and how officers progress through each level during an incident. [...]