On January 28, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Earnest v. Genesee County[i], which serves as an excellent review of the law related to excessive force. The facts of Earnest, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On February 28, 2016, Plaintiff became upset because he was unable to see his son. In the afternoon, he went to a friend's house and drank some liquor. Eventually, Plaintiff and his friend went to a bar and split a pitcher of beer. They left, and Plaintiff went home for a few hours. Plaintiff then returned to the bar by [...]

On January 28, 2021, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Wood v. Wooten[i], in which the court examined whether Deputy Wooten was entitled to summary judgment in a civil suit even if he identified an incorrect offense to the plaintiff.  The relevant facts of Wood, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In the early morning of October 23, 2016, Scott County Deputy Sheriff Toby Haynes pulled Wood over for driving with a broken headlight. Operating a vehicle with a broken headlight at night is illegal in Missouri. §§ 307.040.1, 307.105.1, 307.020(9), RSMo 2016. Checking the records, Haynes [...]

On January 26, 2021, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Myers[i], in which the court examined whether officers had probable cause to arrest a passenger in an automobile for drugs when neither he nor the driver claimed ownership of the drugs.  The relevant facts of Myers, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In its efforts to stem the flow of drugs into Norfolk, Virginia, the drug interdiction unit of the Norfolk Police Department, headed by Sgt. William Winingear, regularly surveilled bus stations, the train station, the airport, hotels, motels, parcel facilities, and the [...]

On December 21, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Williams v. City of Montgomery[i], which is instructive regarding liability for arresting the wrong person, due to mistaken identity, when executing an arrest warrant.  The relevant facts of Williams, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At the request of the Montgomery School Enforcement Bureau, Officer Shirah, Sergeant Geier, and Officer Blake Hicks drove to 6812 Briar Gate Court to arrest a student, Braxton Williams, on five felony warrants outstanding in another jurisdiction. Hicks and Geier walked to the house and spoke to a woman who identified herself [...]

On December 18, 2020, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Cronin v. Peterson[i], in which the court examined the conduct of officers conducting an internal, criminal investigation on another member of their department.  The relevant facts of Peterson, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In September 2015, the Lincoln Police Department received a complaint from the Nebraska Crime Commission alleging that a detective in Ohio believed that Cronin was interfering with the detective's investigation into alleged illegal steroid sales by a nutritional supplement store owner in Powell, Ohio. The Ohio detective had seized the store owner's cellphone and [...]

On December 11, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided L.S. ex rel. Hernandez v. Peterson[i], which is instructive regarding liability of schools and school resource officers for failing to protect students.  The relevant facts of Hernandez, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On February 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He also injured 17 others during his six-minute rampage. The shooting caused traumatic harm to many more bystanders, including the plaintiffs, 15 students who were present and allege psychological injuries… The students allege that [...]