©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On December 19, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Brand v. Casal et al.[i], in which the court examined whether the use of the Taser and a protective sweep of a residence were lawful under the Fourth Amendment. The relevant facts of Brand, taken directly from the case, are as follows: THE FACTS 1. Facts Leading to the Initial Encounter In November 2010, a Magistrate Judge in Gwinnett County, Georgia issued an arrest warrant for Wesley Brand for felony theft by taking of a motor vehicle. Four months later, [...]

©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On November 6, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Pena v. Marcus et al.[i], which serves as an excellent review regarding the use of force during the execution of a search warrant. The relevant facts of Pena, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In March 2013, the Sheriff's Office received a tip concerning narcotics and gang activity at 945 Vista Palm Way, which was owned by sixty-seven-year-old Pena. The deputies conducted a "trash pull" at the house and found a residue that tested presumptively positive for cannabis. [...]

©2018 Jack Ryan, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) The case does not give any guidance for law enforcement operations other than the indication that the law was not clearly established when this particular shooting occurred. Kisela v. Hughes, PER CURIAM, 2018 U.S. LEXIS 2066; 2018 WL 1568126 (April 2, 2018)[1] As a reminder at the outset of this article, we note that when officers are sued for a violation of civil rights, the officer(s) often seek to have the case dismissed based on summary judgment and/or qualified immunity. Under summary judgment the officer argues, even if the court takes [...]

©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On November 8, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Felix[i], which serves as an excellent review regarding when a suspect description match amounts to reasonable suspicion to justify an investigative detention. The relevant facts of Felix, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At approximately 12:30 AM, on June 20, 2015, Officer Nicholas Ursitti of the Fort Myers Police Department responded to a dispatch call regarding a robbery that had occurred on Palm Beach Boulevard. Officer Ursitti was familiar with that neighborhood because robberies [...]

©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On November 13, 2017, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided Melton v. Phillips[i], which serves as instructive regarding officer liability for incorrectly identifying a suspect in an initial incident report. The relevant facts of Melton, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In June 2009, Deputy Phillips interviewed an alleged assault victim and filled out an incident report identifying the alleged assailant by the name "Michael David Melton." After Deputy Phillips submitted the report, an investigator with the Sheriff's Office began investigating the assault. A year later, the [...]

©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On November 17, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Hammett v. Paulding County et al.[i], which is instructive regarding the use of deadly force and its reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment. In Hammett, deputies conducted an investigation regarding Brenda Van Cleve and her husband, Daniel Hammett. Investigation revealed that Brenda used and sold drugs out of their home. Their 17-year-old son also resided at the residence. Deputies conducted a controlled buy of methamphetamine and subsequently obtained a valid search warrant. There was no information regarding firearms at the residence, [...]