On November 26th, 2014, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Chartier [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to reasonable suspicion to make a traffic stop, expansion of the scope of the stop, and probable cause after a canine sniff.  The relevant facts of Chartier, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On December 7, 2012, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Officer Erik Naaktgeboren of the Hiawatha Police Department was conducting routine patrol when he observed a blue Mercury Grand Marquis. After running the vehicle's license plate, he learned that the registered owner—a white [...]

On November 14th, 2014, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Walker [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to reasonable suspicion required to conduct an investigatory stop.  The relevant facts of Walker, taken directly from the case, are as follows: The facts relied on by the district court in denying Walker's motion to suppress are not disputed. Shortly before 1:00 a.m., a caller informed emergency dispatch of a drive-by shooting at 1405 Idaho Street in Des Moines, Iowa. The dispatcher reported to police that the caller saw two African-American males getting into a "Suburban," [...]

On September 23, 2014, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided the Holland v. State [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to probable cause to arrest someone for DUI and the legal sufficiency of the blood test.  The relevant facts of Holland, taken directly from the case, are as follows: [O]n June 28, 2011, State Trooper Michael Garmon was called to investigate an accident. Garmon determined that Holland was driving a pickup truck, that Holland was attempting to turn left, i.e., southbound, onto U. S. Highway 27, that Holland failed to yield to traffic, and that he was [...]

On November 14, 2014, the First Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Fermin [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to reasonable suspicion to detain a person for a drug investigation.  The relevant facts of Fermin, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On January 6, 2012, members of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force ("HIDTA task force"), a unit of the Rhode Island State Police, were conducting surveillance near the Providence College campus. Fermin was observed walking down residential Liege Street empty-handed, wearing a garbage bag underneath a red sweatshirt, before disappearing [...]

On January 5th, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the Quiles v. City of Tampa Police Dept. et al. [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to the reasonableness requirement for officers using deadly force.  The relevant facts of Quiles, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On the day of the incident, Officer Cain stopped Quiles for driving recklessly. When asked for his identification, Quiles gave Officer Cain a driver's license with the name "Alex Perez." After discovering that Perez's driver's license was suspended and that Perez had earlier citations for traffic violations, Officer Cain [...]

On October 20, 2014, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided the United States v. Reid [i], in which they found that an officer acted reasonably under the Fourth Amendment when he accompanied an arrestee back into her home so she could put on additional clothes. The relevant facts of Reid, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In 2011, Reid was living with his girlfriend, Earnestine Graham. Graham was serving a term of federal supervised release, and she had violated the conditions of her release. Several law enforcement officers, including deputy United States marshals and St. Louis police detectives, went [...]