On January 7th, 2016, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the Domingo et al. v. Kowalski et al. [i], which serves as instructive regarding when abuse of a student in school, by a school official, may amount to a violation of the student’s Fourteenth Amendment due process rights. The relevant facts of Kowalski, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Appellants' factual allegations are based almost entirely on the testimony of Suzanne Brant, who worked as a teaching aide in Kowalski's special-education class of autistic and developmentally delayed students during the 2003-2004 school year. As the year progressed, Brant became increasingly [...]

On December 2, 2015, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Barber v. Miller [i], which serves as instructive concerning the law pertaining to whether certain conduct in child abuse investigations violates the constitution.  The relevant facts of Barber, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In January 2011, a member of Barber's family reported to the Children's Protective Services unit of the Michigan Department of Human Services (CPS) that Barber was neglecting J.B. Soon after, Miller, a CPS social worker, interviewed J.B. at his public elementary school without first obtaining a court order or Barber's consent. That same day, Miller interviewed [...]

On December 22, 2015, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Mocek v. City of Albuquerque [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining unlawful arrest and First Amendment claims.  The relevant facts of Mocek, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Mocek has a practice of refusing to show his photo identification at airport security checkpoints. Prior to 2008, he was able to clear checkpoints by complying with alternative TSA identification procedures. In 2008, the TSA established a policy that those who "simply refuse[d] to provide any identification or assist transportation security officers in ascertaining their identity" would [...]

In Estate of Armstrong v. Village of Pinehurst et al. the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit examined the use of a TASER™, in the drive stun mode, on a mentally impaired subject and determined that the officers used unconstitutional excessive force, however because the law was not clearly established at the time the force was used, the officers were granted qualified immunity and the case against the individual officers was dismissed. The court described the facts as follows: Ronald Armstrong suffered from bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia. On April 23, 2011, he had been off his prescribed medication for five [...]

While working as a law enforcement officer, I was exposed to a number of officer safety training materials that described nonverbal cues indicative of an impending assault. As a young officer I tried to memorize these cues and observe for them when dealing with people on the street. I found, however, that every time I read another book on officer safety there was a new, and different, list of nonverbal cues to watch for. I was also discovering that watching for these cues and reacting to them with harsher verbal commands and a defensive body posture, was making people more [...]

On January 4, 2016, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Hamad [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to administrative searches of businesses.  The relevant facts of Hamad, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Iaad Hamad owned H & Y Chicago Foods, a small convenience store on the west side of Chicago. Among other items, the store sold cigarettes. Cook County (which encompasses Chicago) has an ordinance which taxes and regulates the sale of cigarettes. See Cook County Code of Ordinances, Title IX, Section 74-430, et seq. (2009) (hereafter "Cigarette Ordinance" or "Ordinance"). It is [...]