On September 8, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals of decided the Saunders v. Duke et al. [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to the Fourth Amendment regarding excessive force. The relevant facts of Saunders, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On January 24, 2008, Mr. Saunders met with a couple of individuals at a gas station in Orlando, Florida, to sell them oxycodone pills. Those individuals, however, turned out to be an undercover officer and a confidential informant. Mr. Saunders entered the front passenger seat of the undercover agent's car and conducted the narcotics [...]

Courts have held that probationers are afforded a lesser expectation of privacy than individuals not on probation.  As such, the United States Supreme Court has held that searches of probationers are deemed an exception to the probable cause and warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment.  However, certain criteria must be met for such a search to be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.   On July 8, 2014, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the Leatherwood v. Welker et al. [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to searches of probationers.  The relevant facts of Leatherwood, taken directly from the [...]

On May 21, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the Morris v. Town of Lexington et al. [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to warrantless entry into private residences.  The relevant facts of Morris, taken directly from the case, are as follows: According to Morris's complaint, a 911 operator in Alabama received an emergency phone call from a highly intoxicated woman, who said that she had been "abandoned" and did not know where she was. She requested that someone be sent to pick her up. Town of Lexington Police Officer Lee Bradford and Reserve Police Officers [...]

On May 22, 2014, the Georgia Court of Appeals decided the Flading v. State [i], in which they decided the issue of whether a stipulation to plead guilty in a criminal DUI case in exchange for the dismissal of an administrative license suspension was validly admissible in the criminal case. The relevant facts of Flading, taken directly from the case, are as follows: [T]he record reflects that on July 11, 2009, Officer Joshua Ott of the Roswell police department observed a black Lincoln Mark LT turn right onto Canton Street. He noted that the vehicle crossed halfway across the double yellow line before [...]

On July 22, 2014, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the Wilson v. Village of Los Lunas et al. [i], which serves as review of the law pertaining to arrests and retaliatory arrest.  The relevant facts of Wilson, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On July 13, 2009, Officer Walker stopped Mr. Wilson for a stop sign violation. She wrote him three citations, one for the stop sign violation and two more for lack of vehicle registration and proof of insurance. The parties dispute what happened during the stop. According to Officer Walker, Mr. Wilson was agitated when she first [...]

Officers throughout the United States have heard use of force instructors discuss the “21 Foot Rule” during their officer safety, firearms and deadly force training. As a use of force instructor and a practicing forensic police practices expert, I have also trained and testified to this concept myself. In 1983, the concept’s founder, Salt Lake City PD police firearms instructor Lt. Dennis Tueller (Ret.) set up a drill where he placed a “suspect” armed with an edged weapon twenty or so feet away from an officer with a holstered sidearm. He then directed the armed suspect to run towards the officer in [...]