On March 19, 2025, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided the State v. Dean[i], in which the court of appeals examined whether the trial court erred in granting a motion to suppress based on unreasonable delay of a traffic stop.  The relevant facts of Dean, taken directly from the case, are as follows: So viewed, the record shows that on January 18, 2021, Sergeant Adam Pendelton of the Peachtree City Police Department observed Dean driving without a seatbelt or license plate; and so he initiated a traffic stop of the truck for those reasons. When Pendelton approached the passenger-side [...]

On April 29, 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thompson v. Richter[i], in which the court of appeals had to decide if troopers were entitled to qualified immunity for allegedly violating the plaintiffs’ rights under the Fourth Amendment by extending a traffic stop to allow for a canine sniff.  The relevant facts of Thompson, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In the early morning hours of September 23, 2020, Trooper Will Richter pulled over Russell Thompson and Demetrius McChester on Route 287 for speeding. At the time, McChester was driving Thompson's 2019 Mercedes Benz. Richter approached [...]

From the United States Supreme Court Unprovoked Flight and Reasonable Suspicion   In District of Columbia v. R.W.[1] the United States Supreme Court decided a case where strange behavior by the occupants of a vehicle and the conduct of the vehicle’s driver led to reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle. The Court described the facts as follows: In the wee hours of a winter morning in Washington, D. C., District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Officer Clifford Vanterpool received a radio dispatch call directing him to check out a suspicious vehicle at a specific address. Officer Vanterpool reached the apartment building [...]

On March 21, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Gilmore[i], which is instructive regarding the application of the plain view doctrine.  The relevant facts of Gilmore, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On February 9, 2022, Gilmore was the passenger in a vehicle that fled from an attempted traffic stop. During the high-speed pursuit that followed, Gilmore discarded from the passenger window about five pounds of marijuana, 191 grams of high-purity methamphetamine, and a handgun. A helicopter unit followed the car to a Tampa residence, where Gilmore and the driver, Elvis Martin, fled [...]

In 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Sligh v. City of Conroe[i], in which the court examined whether deputies violated the Fourth Amendment when, a police canine was commanded to bite an emotionally disturbed woman who had attempted self-harm and then pulled away from an officer who attempted to handcuff her.  The relevant facts of Sligh, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At 1:39 a.m. on July 5, 2018, Plaintiff-Appellant Olivia Sligh's partner called 911 to report that Sligh was suicidal, had hurt herself, and had left her house on foot. Sligh's partner requested an ambulance, and [...]

In 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Sligh v. City of Conroe[i], in which the court examined whether deputies violated the Fourth Amendment when, a police canine was commanded to bite an emotionally disturbed woman who had attempted self-harm and then pulled away from an officer who attempted to handcuff her.  The relevant facts of Sligh, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At 1:39 a.m. on July 5, 2018, Plaintiff-Appellant Olivia Sligh's partner called 911 to report that Sligh was suicidal, had hurt herself, and had left her house on foot. Sligh's partner requested an ambulance, and [...]