On August 22, 2022, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Watson v. State[i], which serves as an excellent review of the law related to pretextual traffic stops, the use of confidential informants, and reasonable suspicion to expand the scope of a traffic stop.  The relevant facts of Watson are as follows: [F]ederal agents informed a police officer with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (“HIDTA”) Task Force that a confidential informant (“CI”) reported that Watson would be driving from Alabama to Atlanta to pick up between five and ten kilograms of heroin, cocaine, or both. Multiple law enforcement officers, [...]

On June 15, 2022, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Williams v. State[i], which serves as instructive regarding whether felony-stop tactics by police constitute an unlawful, de-facto arrest.  The relevant facts of Williams are as follows: In January 2019, at approximately 1:34 a.m., an officer from the Douglasville Police Department was patrolling on I-20 East when he received a stolen tag notification from his vehicle‘s automated license plate reader. The alert came as three vehicles, seemingly traveling closely together, passed the officer while traveling in the center lane. The three vehicles, in order from back to front, were a [...]

On July 28, 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Tyson v. Cnty. Of Sabine[i], in which the court had to decide whether a deputy’s sexual misconduct with a citizen was a constitutional violation and if so, whether the deputy was entitled to qualified immunity.  The relevant facts of Tyson are as follows: On September 18, 2018, Wade Tyson called the Sheriff's Department of Sabine County, Texas, to request a welfare check on his wife, Melissa Tyson ("Tyson"). Wade reported that he was out of town and worried about his wife, who was home alone and distressed. Defendant Deputy David [...]

On July 27, 2022, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Brown v. City of St. Louis[i], which serves as instructive regarding claims for false arrest of protesters.  The relevant facts of Brown are as follows: On March 11, 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump held a campaign rally at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, a privately owned venue. The event was ticketed, though tickets were free. Brown obtained a ticket and selected a front-row seat near the center of the stage. Although the exact number of attendees is not found in the record, Officer Boettigheimer testified in his [...]

On July 27, 2022, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Webster v. Westlake[i], which serves as an excellent review of when the court will deny qualified immunity for officers in a false arrest claim.  The relevant facts of Webster are as follows: School officials contacted the Iowa Department of Human Services after a school nurse found marks, abrasions, and bruising on seven-year-old L.B.'s legs. L.B. explained that her father, Robert Rushing, caused the injuries when he disciplined her with a belt after she got in trouble at school. L.B. said that her mother, Trenisha Webster, is usually in charge [...]

On July 25, 2022, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Daniels[i], which serves as instructive regarding when a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in a rental vehicle.  The relevant facts of Daniels are as follows: Derrick Daniels had multiple outstanding arrest warrants, and police were actively searching for him. So they obtained search warrants to track him using his cell-phone location data. After using that data to find him, officers saw Daniels driving a gray Dodge Charger with a Florida license tag. Running the license plate on the vehicle revealed that the Charger [...]