On July 19, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Watkins v. Miller[i], in which the court examined whether, in response to a 911 call regarding a man in a parking lot, an officer violated the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendment when he stopped the man, issued him a criminal trespass warning, and threatened to arrest him if he did not leave the private parking lot. The relevant facts of Watkins, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Watkins alleged that, on August 30, 2014, he was in a shopping center parking lot when Miller approached him and said [...]

On July 9, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Sawyer[i], in which the court examined whether a trespasser in residence has reasonable expectation of privacy in his belongings that he leaves inside the residence.   The relevant facts of Sawyer, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On July 26, 2016, Chicago police officers responded to a report of a residential burglary in progress. After they approached the home and looked for signs of a forced entry, someone named M.G. arrived, and told the officers that he and his wife owned the home. He [...]

On July 22, 2019, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Shull v. Walgreen Company et al.[i], in which the court examined whether an officer was entitled to qualified immunity from liability when he was sued for violating the plaintiff’s rights under the Fourteenth Amendment for using an impermissibly suggestive photographic identification procedure.   The relevant facts of Shull, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On January 16, 2015, VanRuden was called to Walgreens in Crossville to answer a shoplifting complaint. He was informed that the shoplifter was a short, thin, white woman with dark hair, wearing black pants [...]

On June 20, 2019, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Lane v. Nading et al.[i], in which the court examined whether a parole officer was entitled to qualified immunity from suit when he entered Lane’s motel room, without a warrant and without knocking and announcing, and arrested Lane.   The relevant facts of Lane, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Lane was on parole in Arkansas in January 2015. As part of his conditions of release from the Arkansas Department of Corrections, Lane consented to warrantless searches and seizures of his "person, place of residence, and motor vehicles." [...]

On June 4, 2019, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Day v. State[i] which serves as an excellent review of the law regarding administrative or special needs searches.  The facts of Day, taken directly from the case, are as follows: [T]he evidences presented at the suppression hearing shows that Day was on felony probation at the time of the search and had reported to a Georgia Department of Community Supervision (GDCS) facility for intake and a probation appointment. Upon entering the facility, Day was instructed to walk through a metal detector and to place her personal belongings onto a [...]

On June 17, 2019, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Johnson v. City of Ferguson[i], in which the court examined whether Dorian Johnson, the companion of Michael Brown, was seized during the nationally known shooting incident involving Brown. The facts of the case, as stated below, are the facts as alleged by the Johnson, the plaintiff in this case.  At this stage of the litigation, the motions for summary judgment and qualified immunity, the court is generally required to accept the plaintiff’s version of events.  As such, the facts, as stated by the plaintiff, are as follows: As alleged [...]