©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On March 15, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. McCullough[i], in which the court discussed whether a traffic stop that was conducted because the officer mistakenly thought the driver of a vehicle was in violation of Alabama traffic law when he observed that his tag frame covered part of the license plate, although all of the letters and numbers on the tag were visible. The relevant facts of McCullough, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Roger McCullough drove along the highway one evening [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On March 3, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Ray[i], in which the court discussed when an officer’s discipline for misconduct can be used against the officer in court. Officers stopped Glen Edward Ray, Jr., for a traffic violation. Ray was subsequently arrested and during a search incident to arrest, an officer found drugs in Ray’s pocket. One of the officers on the scene as a back-up officer was Officer Beal. Officer Beal was subsequently forced to resign from the police department because of [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On February 21, 2017, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided Mabry v. Lee County[i], in which the court discussed the Fourth Amendment as it relates to routine policies to strip search juveniles as they enter a juvenile correctional facility. The relevant facts of Mabry, taken directly from the case, are as follows: T.M. was a twelve-year old student at Tupelo Middle School. She was in a physical altercation with a fellow student on school property. Pursuant to the school's zero-tolerance policy, the school principal consulted with the Tupelo police [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On February 2, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals of decided Montanez v. Parker et al.[i], in which the court discussed the Fourth Amendment as it relates to stopping a bicyclist, arrest, and the use of canine as a use of force. The relevant facts of Montanez, taken directly from the case, are as follows: After gathering with family to celebrate Easter, Montanez and his cousin, Joshua Mejia, rode their bicycles back home on the Cady Way Trail in Orlando, Florida. Although it was evening and the sun had set, [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On February 13, 2017, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided the Estate of Redd v. Love et al.[i], in which the court discussed whether the number of agents executing a search warrant could constitute excessive force under the Fourth Amendment. The relevant facts of Redd, taken directly from the case, are as follows: To deal with the problem of people illegally taking and trafficking Native American artifacts from federal lands, BLM agents and FBI agents jointly investigated these crimes occurring in southern Utah and the Four Corners region. As [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On February 15, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Smith v. City of Fairburn et al.[i], in which the court discussed the sufficiency of an investigation as it relates to establishing probable cause to arrest. This case arose over the arrest of Ms. Smith, who lived in the City of Fairburn, Georgia. Ms. Smith had a history with the city and characterized herself as a “citizen watchdog.” In 2013, she repeatedly questioned the legality of the purchase of police vehicles, and argued that Chief McCarthy had not followed [...]