On June 12, 2013, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Davis v. State [i] which is instructive regarding the legality of officers questioning passengers of automobiles which have been stopped for traffic violations.  The facts of Davis are as follows: On January 24, 2012, Davis was a passenger in a vehicle traveling on I-75 in Henry County when a police officer stopped the vehicle for failure to maintain lane. On approaching the vehicle, the officer detected the odor of alcohol, and he asked the driver to exit the vehicle to make sure that she was not impaired. After observing that the driver appeared [...]

Officers have generally been able to continue their pursuit where an officer has probable cause to believe that a suspect has committed a crime and the officer is right on the suspect’s heels. In these cases the officer is not required to stop at the threshold and get a warrant before entering to make the apprehension.   It should be noted that this issue is clear with respect to felonies but not clear when dealing with less serious crimes. [i] Two cases from the United States Supreme Court appeared to have provided guidance to officers with respect to whether or not [...]

On February 5, 2013, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Hernandez-Lopez v. State [i], which addressed the issue of whether a “hit” from a license plate reader that the registered owner was a “wanted person” provided sufficient legal justification to stop a vehicle.  The facts of Hernandez-Lopez, taken directly from the case are as follows: [T]he Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department patrol cars are equipped with license-plate reader (“LPR”) systems. This system consists of mounted cameras that read license plates of passing vehicles to transmit the information to a database of wanted persons. The database is updated daily and includes information about the [...]

Law enforcement officers have, in recent years, come to rely on GPS technology to assist in vehicle surveillance.  However, in 2012, the United States Supreme Court decided the United States v. Jones [i], in which they held that the government’s installation and use of such GPS devices to monitor a suspect’s movements constituted a “search” under the Fourth Amendment.  This left some question as to whether evidence obtained by GPS prior to the Jones decision would be suppressed in court. Recently, the First Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Sparks [ii], in which they addressed the admissibility of evidence obtained by the [...]

On July 3, 2013, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Felton v. State [i] which serves as an excellent review of the law related to investigative detentions based upon dispatches and frisks of individuals being lawfully detained.  The facts of Felton are as follows: [T]he evidence shows that a police officer responded to a dispatch based upon a 911 call from a concerned citizen about a violent, verbal dispute between a man and a woman in a white car parked in a convenience store parking lot. He was dispatched to investigate “a domestic disturbance in progress.” When the officer arrived at [...]

On July 31, 2013, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Sabo [i] which instructive regarding consent to enter private premises.  The facts of Sabo are as follows: In January 2010, two Deputy U.S. Marshals knocked on Terry Sabo's trailer door hoping to locate a fugitive, Sabo's stepson. When Sabo opened the door, both deputies immediately noticed a strong odor of marijuana and heard voices coming from inside the trailer. Sabo acknowledged that his children were inside but denied that his stepson was there. The deputies asked Sabo if he was “smoking dope” with his children in the trailer, to [...]