At times, uniform patrol officers are asked by narcotics agents to conduct traffic stops on suspected drug traffickers.  In some circumstances, the narcotics agent requesting the traffic stop wants the officer to develop his own legal justification to stop the car in order to prevent jeopardizing some larger drug investigation.  It is then up to the patrol officer to find a lawful reason to stop the car and conduct a lawful search, whether by consent, the use of a canine or some other exception to the warrant requirement. On January 3, 2013, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United [...]

Consent to search is a valid exception to the search warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment. However, law enforcement officers must keep in mind that where and what they can search under such consent is limited by the scope of the consent provided.  Typically, the scope of the consent is determined by what a reasonable person would believe is the object of the search or in the alternative, specific statements made by the officer or the person providing consent.  Recently, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided Winfield v. Trottier [i] in which they were faced with the issue of whether reading a person’s [...]

Warrantless searches of private residences are presumptively unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.  However, the United States Supreme Court has established certain exceptions to the warrant requirement.  On February 15, 2013, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Yengel [i], which serves as an excellent review of the exigent circumstance exception to the warrant requirement.  The facts of Yengel, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In the late afternoon of December 31, 2011, Sergeant Brian Staton responded to a call regarding a domestic assault at the home of Joseph Robert Yengel, Jr. ("Yengel"). The 911 dispatcher informed Sergeant Staton [...]

At times, law enforcement officers encounter animals that pose a danger to the officers or others and force must be used against the animal.  On March 12, 2013, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided Carroll v. County of Monroe et al. [i], which involved the use of deadly force against a dog that threatened officers as they executed a no-knock search warrant.  The facts of Carroll, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On October 11, 2006, Deputy Carroll and other officers from the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team executed a "no-knock" warrant for the plaintiff's home. A no-knock [...]

On January 29, 2013, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Patton [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law related to frisks of suspects.  The facts of Patton, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At approximately 1:30 a.m. on August 11, 2010, Peoria police officer Ryan Winkle and his partner were dispatched to investigate a group of seven or eight men who reportedly were drinking beers on a public sidewalk, in violation of a city ordinance. Winkle and his partner were assigned to the police department's violent crime task force; the supervisor of that [...]