On December 15, 2023, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Ramos[i], which serves as an excellent review of the law related to vehicle impounds conducted incident to arrests. The incident occurred at 11:51 p.m., on February 13, 2022, at the Hop & Sack Convenience Store, where Officer Puentes of the Frederick Police Department received a dispatch regarding a disturbance. When Officer Puentes arrived, he observed two men, Ramos and Hogan, in a physical altercation.  He recognized both men, as the Town of Frederick is a small town, and Officer Puentes grew up there.  In fact, [...]

On October 18, 2024, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Coriell v. Snyder[i], in which the court examined whether an officer violated the Fourth Amendment when the officer tased a passenger on a traffic stop when the passenger pushed the officer and fled on foot.  The relevant facts of Coriell are as follows: Snyder pulled over a vehicle for a routine traffic stop because it was missing a license plate. In addition to the driver, there were two passengers in the car, including Coriell. Before questioning the driver about the missing license plate, Snyder asked for identification from the [...]

On August 23, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Williams v. City of Sparks[i], in which the court examined whether officers were entitled to qualified immunity when they shot Williams, who had just led them on a forty-two-minute vehicle pursuit and then attempted to resume flight after officers used their vehicles to physically block his truck.  The relevant facts of Williams are as follows: On May 5, 2020, at around 12:10 AM, SPD dispatch received a 911 call from a gas station that a male suspect had stolen alcohol and was "vandalizing" a vehicle in the parking lot. [...]

On September 24, 2024, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Couch v. State[i], in which the court examined whether a hotel guest that remained in the room past the check-out time, without permission of the motel, still had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the room under the Fourth Amendment.  The relevant facts of Couch are as follows: On the morning of November 15, 2019, a law enforcement officer went to a hotel in search of a fugitive. From a photograph, the hotel's front desk clerk recognized the fugitive as someone “associated with” a room in the hotel that [...]

On October 2, 2024, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Edgar v. Brunson[i], in which the court examined whether officers were entitled to qualified immunity after arresting Edgar, who was suffering from a medical condition, for public intoxication.  The relevant facts of Edgar are as follows: The following facts come from Edgar's complaint and Officer Brunson's body camera footage. One day, someone called the Elba Police Department to express concern for Edgar because he was walking unsteadily on the street. Officer Brunson responded to the call, and Edgar explained that he had ataxia—a neurological disorder that affects a person's balance [...]

On October 22, 2024, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Perry[i], in which the court examined whether search warrants officers obtained for Perry’s real-time, cell site location information to locate and arrest him pursuant to an arrest warrant, were valid.  The relevant facts of Perry are as follows: On July 11, 2021, Perry fired over a dozen shots into the ceiling at the Elks Lodge in Alliance, Ohio. Police investigators identified Perry from a surveillance video and obtained an arrest warrant on July 16. They also obtained two search warrants for cellphone-location and call-history data [...]