©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On October 5, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Sanders[i], in which serves as an excellent review regarding the search of parolee’s residence as well as the legal requirement for protective sweeps. The relevant facts of Sanders, taken directly from the district court’s ruling in this case, are as follows: Defendant was paroled in December 2011 and was subject to "standard conditions" of parole. (Tr. at 6). The Government offered into evidence Defendant's Parole Certificate (Hearing Exhibit 1 ["Ex. 1"]) and the back side of [...]

©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On August 28, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Harling[i], which serves as an excellent explanation of the independent source doctrine as it relates to the Fourth Amendment. The relevant facts of Harling, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In 2013, Nicole Dunwody saw a listing on Craigslist advertising a condominium unit for rent in Fort Myers, Florida. Harling occupied the unit at the time but was looking to rent it out because he had just purchased a new home. Nicole decided to [...]

©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On August 1, 2017, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Johnson v. Peay[i], in which the court discussed whether an officer who shot a fleeing car chase suspect is entitled to qualified immunity regarding an excessive force suit. The relevant facts of Johnson, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Johnson initiated the underlying car chase when Deputy Christian Peay of the Morgan County Sheriff's Department, Sergeant Peay's brother, attempted to initiate a traffic stop due to the fact that Johnson was driving late at night without her headlights [...]

©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On September 14, 2017, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Taylor v. State[i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to the reasonable suspicion required to expand the scope of a traffic stop beyond the original reason for the stop. The relevant facts of Taylor are as follows: The deputy was a canine handler with the county's uniform patrol division. He testified that he stopped Taylor while driving on Interstate 75 for failure to maintain lane and for having window tint that was too dark. As Taylor was [...]

©2018 Jack Ryan, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) Unprovoked Flight, Furtive Action and Unprovoked Flight, as well as Nervous and Evasive Behavior are all factors in the Totality of Circumstances The case of Peaches and the Party In District of Columbia v. Wesby,[1] the United States Supreme Court considered a lawsuit filed by 16 individuals against 5 District of Columbia Police officers in which the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied granting the officers summary judgment and qualified immunity. It is noted that following an initial denial of the officers’ motions in the trial court [...]

©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On September 18, 2017, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided Hansen v. Black[i], in which the court discussed whether a state trooper violated the Fourth Amendment when he shot a large dog that was running loose on an interstate. The relevant facts of Hansen, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On Sunday morning, May 20, 2012, Trooper Black was dispatched to respond to calls regarding a dog on or near the I-29 roadway near busy Frederick Avenue exit ramps into St. Joseph, where the speed limit was [...]