On March 16, 2011, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decided United States v. Kennedy [i], which addressed the issue of whether a person who is not listed on a car rental agreement, and is therefore an unauthorized driver, possesses a reasonable expectation of privacy in the car such that they can object to a search of the car.  The facts of Kennedy, taken directly from the case are as follows: Following the arrest of two minors in connection with stolen firearms, Detective Quinn of the Coatesville City Police Department received information indicating that some of those firearms had been sold for money [...]

On September 12, 2011, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Burleson [i] , which serves as an excellent legal review for officers on the topic of pedestrian stops.  The facts of Burleson taken directly from the case are as follows: Shortly before midnight on May 2, 2008, Officer Jeff Kuepfer of the Roswell, New Mexico, Police Department was patrolling a neighborhood in Roswell when he observed Mr. Burleson and two companions exit an alleyway and begin walking in the middle of the street side-by-side. One of the individuals was carrying a pit bull without a leash. Officer Kuepfer decided [...]

In a consolidated case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reheard two cases that were previously considered by panels of the Ninth Circuit. Brooks v. Seattle and Mattos v. Agarano Circuit were heard en banc in 2011.  The decision in the case, issued on October 17th, found that the actions of the officers in both cases were unconstitutional, but then gave the officers qualified immunity. [i]   The case, which applies to officers working in a Ninth Circuit jurisdiction provides an officer with a view of how use of a TASER® specifically, or an electronic control device generally will be [...]

On September 1, 2011, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided the State v. Woods[i], which serves as an excellent review of criminal procedure issues related to the motel rooms, consent, detentions and the Fourth Amendment.  The facts of Wood, taken directly from the case are as follows: Six police officers, including Officer Tommy Grier, the state's only witness at the suppression hearing, went to a motel to execute a warrant for the arrest of Lee on aggravated assault charges. The officers went to the room listed on the warrant, but it was unoccupied. Officer Grier testified that the manager said that Lee [...]

BACKGROUND The National Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system was established in the 1920’s-30’s.The International Chiefs of Police Association (IACP) formulated a committee, which developed a system for capturing crime statistics to enable law enforcement agencies to measure their effectiveness and better manage their resources. Using the recommendations of the IACP Committee, Congress enacted Title 28, Section 534 of the United States Code authorizing the Attorney General of the United States to collect crime data throughout the nation.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was designated to maintain the clearinghouse of crime data and developed specific definitions and reporting requirements, which [...]

In a recent case, the Court of Appeals of Texas, Eighth District (El Paso), decided In the Matter of S.M.C.[i] which involved a search of a student’s locker in a public school.  Called into question was whether the search of a student’s locker was conducted without any reasonable suspicion and in violation of his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, as well as Article I, Section 9 of the Texas Constitution. The facts of S.M.C. are as follows: [O]n or about March 11, 2009, a student at East Montana Middle School informed Ms. Josephine Angerstein-Guzman, an Assistant Principal, that [...]