©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On December 28, 2016, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided the United States v. Fuehrer[i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to pre-textual traffic stops and canine sniffs in light of the Fourth Amendment. The relevant facts of Fuehrer, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In December 2014, Josh Mulnix, a Special Agent with the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, received information from a confidential informant that Fuehrer was distributing methamphetamine. The informant had seen Fuehrer with methamphetamine at his residence and told [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On December 19, 2016, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals of decided Hill v. Orange County Sheriff et al.[i], which serves as an excellent review of Fourth Amendment law pertaining to warrantless home entry during fugitive investigations. The relevant facts of Hill, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Around 10:30 AM on June 16, 2011, a man entered an Underground Station clothing store at a mall and asked an employee to get some shoes from the back of the store for him. When the employee went to the stock [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On December 1, 2016, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided the United States v. Berry[i], which serves as an excellent review of Fourth Amendment law pertaining to use of GPS devices on vehicles and the use of a narcotics canine to establish probable cause to search a vehicle. The relevant facts of Berry, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Beginning in 2010, DEA agents in New Orleans began investigating Berry for his suspected involvement in a narcotics trafficking ring. As part of their investigation, the DEA agents [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On December 21, 2016, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided Ward v. Smith et al.[i], which is instructive concerning law pertaining to excessive force on convicted inmates of correctional facilities under the Eighth Amendment. The relevant facts of Ward, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On October 26, 2009, Ward was an inmate of the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) as a convicted person serving a sentence of imprisonment and was housed in the Administrative Segregation Unit (Ad Seg) at the South Central Correctional Center (SCCC). Officers [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On January 23, 2017, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals of decided the United States v. Robinson[i], in which the court discussed the meaning of the “armed and dangerous” requirement established by the United States Supreme Court in Terry v. Ohio.[ii] The relevant facts of Robinson, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At about 3:55 p.m. on March 24, 2014, an unidentified man called the Ranson, West Virginia Police Department and told Officer Crystal Tharp that he had just "witnessed a black male in a bluish greenish Toyota Camry load [...]

©2017 Brian S. Batterton, Attorney, Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute (www.llrmi.com) On November 22, 2016, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals of decided the United States v. Thompson[i], in which the court examined drug agents’ conduct, in light of the Fourth Amendment, during a drug investigation. The relevant facts of Thompson, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On March 6, 2013, a joint task force of the Drug Enforcement Agency and Chicago Police Department was conducting surveillance on the residence of Armando Soto in Cicero, Illinois, as part of an ongoing investigation into a drug trafficking organization. The agents (for [...]