On February 4, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Baker v. Clements et al.[i], in which the court examined whether an officer used excessive force under the Fourth Amendment when he used closed-fist strikes (punches) on a suspect who was actively resisting officer’s efforts to place him in handcuffs.  The relevant facts of Baker, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Officer Clements initiated the traffic stop after observing Plaintiff driving a car at night with no tag light illuminating the license plate and with cracks in each tail light. The encounter between Plaintiff and Defendant Officers [...]

On January 14, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Triana[i], in which the court examined whether an officer impermissibly prolonged a traffic stop when he asked questions unrelated to the stop after returning all of driver’s documents and issuing a warning citation. The relevant facts of Triana, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On October 21, 2014, Georgia State Patrol Sergeant Dwayne Massey pulled over a truck travelling northbound on I-75 in Turner County, Georgia because it had a tinted license plate cover. A tinted cover violates Georgia law, which requires license [...]

United States v. Campbell, No. 16-10128 (11th Cir. January 8, 2019) Held:  A stop is unlawfully prolonged when an officer, without reasonable suspicion, diverts from the stop's purpose and adds time to the stop in order to investigate other crimes. The case and holding above is important as it will change the methods by which law enforcement officers conduct traffic stops when they wish to seek consent to search a vehicle. The relevant facts of Campbell, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At about 9:00 pm on a brisk night in December 2013, Deputy Sheriff Robert McCannon was [...]

On January 4, 2019, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Awnings v. Fullerton et al.[i], which serves as an excellent review of Constitutional law pertaining to false arrest, excessive force and denial of medical treatment. The relevant facts of Awnings are as follows: On an early morning in July 2013, Officers Fullerton and Duncan of the LPD encountered Damien Wilkins on a sidewalk in Lincoln. The officers questioned Wilkins about his possible involvement with criminal activity. Awnings, Wilkins's companion, inserted himself into the conversation and began asking the officers why they were questioning Wilkins. Officer Fullerton informed Awnings that [...]

On January 8, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Torres[i], in which the court examined whether the federal statute that prohibits unlawful aliens from possessing firearms violated the Second Amendment. The relevant facts of Torres are as follows: Torres was born in Mexico in 1985. Approximately four years later, he, his younger sister, and his mother moved to San Jose, California, to join Torres's father, who had entered the United States a year earlier. Nothing in the record suggests that either of Torres's parents ever had an immigration status through which Torres could qualify [...]

On January 7, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Debona[i], in which the court examined whether Debona was the subjected to an illegal detention or a consensual encounter. The relevant facts of Debona are as follows: Just before 6:30 p.m. on July 6, 2015, the owner of a gun store located at the Star Plaza in North Fort Meyers, Florida, called 911 about a suspicious, red Ford Focus parked in the plaza parking lot. The gun-store owner reported the vehicle had two occupants, one male and one female, and that the female passenger had [...]