In a 6-2 decision published Jan. 24, the Supreme Court ruled that a dog sniff conducted during a lawful traffic stop that reveals no information other than the location of an unlawful substance does not violate the Fourth Amendment. The case arose from a traffic stop made by Illinois State Trooper Daniel Gillette on an interstate highway. Gillette stopped the respondent, Roy Caballes, for driving six miles an hour over the speed limit. When Gillette radioed the police dispatcher to report that he was making the stop, Trooper Craig Graham, an interdiction and canine officer, heard the transmission and headed [...]

Often questions arise as to whether a police officer needs a search warrant in order to search a motor vehicle. Fortunately, the Supreme Court of the United States has a fairly extensive body of law commonly called the “automobile exception” or the Carroll Doctrine which gives clear direction to police officers on this topic. However, individual states, in interpreting their state constitutions, can be more restrictive upon police in regard to these warrantless searches of automobiles. Thus, as long as a state is deciding law based upon its interpretation of its own constitution, the state can be more restrictive than [...]

While police officers may believe that they will be exposed to liability for all of their actions, both proper and improper, the fact of the matter is that most courts have avoided second-guessing police actions and have only sanctioned the most egregious conduct. There are various levels of liability that may exist when an officer’s actions are deemed improper. The purpose of this section is to provide a brief overview of the possible actions that may result from alleged police misconduct. Civil Actions Intentional Torts: An intentional tort would occur when an officer, without justification, intentionally commits an act which is [...]

Any significant law enforcement event has the potential to develop in a claim made against the agency and the officers involved. The likelihood of a lawsuit is enhanced when individuals involved in the event are injured or claim a violation of their rights at the outset. Depending upon the nature of the event and the public interest involved, the media may also play a role in promoting scrutiny of the police action. While there are many tasks that must be considered during a critical police event, law enforcement officials must take into account the possibility of a lawsuit and should [...]

An Agency or Individual Officer’s Response to Misconduct by Others May Create Agency or Individual Liability In many federal lawsuits against police officers and agencies, attorneys bringing the suit will look beyond the officer who is alleged to have violated the rights of the attorney’s client. Plaintiff’s attorney will attempt to bring the agency or additional officers into the suit. Additional officers will be brought in where their acts or omissions can be connected to the plaintiff’s injury. The agency can only be added where there is some policy, custom or failure in training, supervision or discipline that leads to [...]

Corrupt police officers, politicians, and government employees sometimes engage in corrupt activities, which generate large amounts of cash. The challenge for law enforcement authorities investigating this type of crime is to be able to prove the corrupt individual has a net worth that exceeds their legitimate explainable income. This can often be accomplished by a forensic audit of the target’s assets, liabilities, income, and expenses. Like any other investigation, surveillance of the target, interviews of their associates, and examination of their economic standard of living may possibly lead investigators to the conclusion that the spending habits and assets of the [...]