On June 3, 2019, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thurairajah v. City of Fort Smith[i], in which the court examined whether an officer violated the First and Fourth Amendments when he arrested a man that yelled profanity as he drove by an officer who was engaged in a traffic stop.   The relevant facts of Thurairajah, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In 2015, Trooper Cross was performing a routine traffic stop on a van pulled to the shoulder of a busy five-lane highway in Fort Smith, Arkansas. From 50 feet away, Trooper Cross heard Thurairajah, who [...]

On January 13, 2020, the Supreme Court of Georgia decided White v. State[i], which serves as an excellent review of the law related to in-home warrantless arrests and the admissibility of subsequent statements to police.  The relevant facts of White, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On October 16, 2016, Christian Poss called police to report that his 18-year-old son Samuel was missing. Three days later, after receiving reports pointing to White as a suspect, and without first obtaining an arrest warrant, police arrested White in the doorway of his home. After 17-year-old White arrived at the police [...]

On June 3, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Adair[i], in which the court examined whether an officer had reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk a male, despite a discrepancy in the suspect’s clothing description.   The relevant facts of Adair, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Officer Squires received the emergency notification just after 10:45 p.m. The additional details came in a message transmitted by the 911 operator to the computer in Officer Squires's police car. According to the message, the 911 caller provided her first name and phone number and stated [...]

On May 17, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Taffe v. Wengert[i], in which the court examined whether an officer was entitled to qualified immunity for shooting a robbery suspect.  The relevant facts of Taffe, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In June 2014, two women called the police to report that two men had robbed them of their belongings and cellphones at gunpoint. Deputies from the Broward Sheriff's Office, including Deputy Wengert, were dispatched to investigate. The callers described the robbers as two black males with low-cut hair and dark clothing. One suspect was 5'10" [...]

On May 13, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Richmond[i], in which the court discussed a Terry stop and limited search for weapons of an area between a screen door and exterior door to a duplex in which the suspect resided.  The relevant facts of Richmond, taken directly from the case, are as follows: The night of October 11, 2016, Milwaukee Police Officers Chad Boyack and Anthony Milone were patrolling a residential neighborhood police refer to as the "Capitol Street Corridor." This area in Milwaukee is known for drug trafficking, armed robberies, and gun [...]

On May 3, 2019, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Coleman[i], which serves as an excellent review of Fourth Amendment law pertaining to probable cause for search warrants of residences, GPS tracking of vehicles and curtilage.  The relevant facts of Coleman, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On March 9, 2017, law-enforcement agents began investigating Eddie Powell, a drug dealer, and his sources of narcotics. A cooperating defendant identified one of those sources as the defendant, Ronald Coleman. Officers began investigating Coleman and observed his two automobiles, a brown Trailblazer and a white [...]