On February 1, 2022, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Hobbs[i], which is instructive regarding police use of an emergency order for a cellular service provider to ping a cell phone and provide location information to police.  The relevant facts of Hobbs are as follows: This case arose from allegations of domestic violence reported to Baltimore County police by Hobbs' former girlfriend, Jaquanna Foreman, shortly after 7:00 p.m. on February 3, 2018. 1 At the time, Foreman was home with her seven-year-old daughter. Foreman told the responding officers that Hobbs had come to the back [...]

On January 6, 2022, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Jones[i], which serves an excellent review of the law related to seizures of persons and consent to search when conducting a knock and talk.  The facts of Jones, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On November 16, 2017, Allen County Sheriff Warrants Division Officers Andrew Brenneke and Duane Romines received an arrest warrant for Whitney Gosnell. Gosnell, listed as 5'3'' and 130 to 140 pounds, had allegedly violated the terms of her probation. Following up on an anonymous tip that Gosnell was staying [...]

On January 24, 2022, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Kirilova v. Braun[i], which is instructive regarding police use of deadly force under the Fourth Amendment. In Kirilova, officers were called to a possible burglary.  When they arrived, witnesses directed them toward a vacant house and indicated that that is where the burglary suspect was hiding.  There was also some question as to whether a burglary occurred or whether it was merely trespassing.  As officers approached the vacant house, officers were heard on body camera discussing the fact that, several months prior, they encountered a male who was “squatting” [...]

On January 18, 2022, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Coronado v. Olsen[i], which is instructive regarding police use of force at a SWAT call with a barricaded subject.  The relevant facts of Coronado are as follows: On August 3, 2016, Tabeththa Coronado called 911 to report that her husband, Fernando Coronado, was threatening to kill himself and their family. She told the 911 dispatcher that Coronado had been drinking and that he had held a knife to his own throat while threatening to "kill everybody." Supp. App. at 14. Tabeththa also reported that there was a firearm in [...]

On January 24, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Williamson v. City of Nat’l City[i], which is instructive regarding police use of force with protestors at public meetings.  The relevant facts of Williamson are as follows: In July 2018, protestors, including Williamson, performed a "die-in" at a city council meeting in National City, related to the death of Earl McNeil, a black man who died in police custody. At a predetermined time, the protestors disrupted the meeting by chanting, and several of them made their way toward the public speaking podium and city council members. After showing the [...]

On January 4, 2022, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided the State v. Arroyo[i], which is instructive regarding the use of a drug-sniffing K9 outside of an apartment door.  The relevant facts of Arroyo are as follows: [T]he record at the pre-trial hearing and at trial shows that on October 10, 2016, a Sandy Springs police officer received a tip from a confidential informant that the informant had seen “several” kilograms of cocaine inside Arroyo's apartment. The investigator and a K-9 unit arrived at the apartment complex shortly after noon. Although the investigator first testified that the complex did [...]