©2018 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On September 15, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Woodward v. City of Tucson et al.[i], in which the court discussed whether a trespasser has a reasonable expectation of privacy in a home in which he is trespassing and whether the officers were entitled to qualified immunity for excessive force for shooting said trespasser when he charged at them with a hockey stick. The relevant facts of Woodward, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At 8:58 p.m. on May 21, 2014, the Tucson Police Department ("TPD") received [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On July 13, 2017, the Colorado Court of Appeals decided the People v. McKnight[i], in which the court discussed the impact the impact of Amendment 64 of the Colorado Constitution as it relates to canine sniffs of vehicles and whether a canine alert provides probable cause to search a vehicle. The relevant facts of McKnight, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At the suppression hearing, Officer Gonzales testified that he saw a truck parked in an alley. The truck left the alley and eventually parked outside of a house for about [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On August 1, 2017, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Coca[i], in which the court discussed whether an officer illegally detained a gang member who lied to the officer about having just left an apartment where a wanted gang member may have been hiding. The relevant facts of Coca, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On the afternoon of August 27, 2015, United States marshals received information that Richard Gutierrez, a known gang member, might be present at 1505 La Fonda Drive, Apartment 3811, [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On August 24, 2017, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Cone[i], in which serves as an excellent review of the law regarding whether, on a traffic stop, it is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment for an officer to question a driver regarding his criminal history. The relevant facts of Cone, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On November 29, 2015, Tulsa Police Officer Peter Maher was driving on patrol. About 10:30 p.m. he noticed a white pickup truck crossing through an intersection on 41st [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On August 25, 2017, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Lewis[i], which serves as an excellent review of the community caretaking exception to the Fourth Amendment. The relevant facts of Lewis, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On an evening in August 2014, local police officer Greg Turner responded to reports that a woman was intoxicated in a Wal-Mart in London, Kentucky. Once inside the Wal-Mart, Turner found the woman, later identified as Carol Lakes. Officer Turner noticed that Lakes's "balance was off, she [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On June 5, 2017, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided the United States v. Riley[i], in which the court discussed whether the police violate the Fourth Amendment when, without a search warrant, they track a wanted person’s cell phone GPS location data in order to locate and arrest him. The relevant facts of Riley, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On June 23, 2015, a state court in Kent County, Michigan, issued an arrest warrant for Riley, having found probable cause to believe that he had committed [...]