2018 Editions
Complete Winter 2018 Edition
Complete Spring-Summer 2018 Edition
Complete Fall 2018 Edition
Recent Cases, Updates and Alerts
People v. Gutierrez (2018) 27 Cal.App.5th 1155
ISSUE: If a DUI arrestee opts for a blood test, must officers nevertheless obtain a search warrant?
Whalen v. McMullen (9th Cir. 2018) __ F.3d __ [2018 WL 5530736]
ISSUE: Was an officer's consensual entry into a suspect's home unlawful because the officer lied about the purpose of his visit?
People v. Delgado (2018) 27 Cal.App.5th 1092
ISSUE: Did detectives violate Miranda while questioning a murder suspect?d
People v. Fews (2018) 27 Cal.App.5th 553
ISSUES: (1) Did officers have adequate grounds to pat search the defendant? (2) Under what circumstances may officers in California search a vehicle for marijuana?
U.S. v. Artis (N.D. Cal. 2018) __ F.Supp.3d __ [2018 WL 3241400]
ISSUES: Can California Superior Court judges authorize federal agents to execute search warrants without assistance from California law enforcement officers? If not, does it follow that California judges are prohibited from issuing search warrants to any federal agents?
People v. Vannesse (2018) 23 Cal.App.5th 440
ISSUE: If an officer reasonably believes that a DUI arrestee was under the influence of drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol, is it a violation of California law to inform him that he must provide a blood sample? Or must the officer inform him that he can choose between a blood or breath test?
U.S. v. Maxi (11th Cir. 2018) 886 F.3d 1318
ISSUES: (1) Did officers illegally enter the property surrounding the defendant’s home to conduct a “knock and talk?†(2) Did the defendant open the door voluntarily when an officer knocked? (3) Was the officers’ warrantless entry into the home justified by exigent circumstances?
U.S. v. Gardner (6th Cir. 2018) 887 F.3d 780
ISSUE: Did a prostitute have apparent authority to consent to a search of a cell phone she shared with her pimp?
People v. Meza (2018) 23 Cal.App.5th 604
ISSUE: If a DUI arrestee is treated at a hospital for injuries, under what circumstances can officers obtain a blood sample without a warrant?
Carpenter v. United States (2018) __ U.S. __ [138 S.Ct. 2206]
NOTE: The Supreme Court's decision in Carpenter will not affect California law as state law already requires a search warrant to obtain CSLI.
People v. Case (2018) 5 Cal.5th 1
ISSUE: Did a detective violate a murder suspect's Miranda rights when he continued to question the suspect after he invoked his right to remain silent?
Collins v. Virginia (2018) __ U.S. __ [138 S.Ct. 1663]
ISSUES: (1) If officers have probable cause to search a suspect’s vehicle, may they do so
without a warrant if the vehicle was parked on the suspect’s driveway? (2) If probable
cause is not enough, under what circumstances can such an entry be based on implied
consent?
People v. Gutierrez (2018) 21 Cal.App.5th 1146
ISSUE: When conducting probation searches of a residence, under what circumstances may officers detain visitors?
DNA Testing of Arrestees: On April 2, 2018 the California Supreme Court ruled that, per California's DNA Act (Proposition 69), officers may, without a warrant, take DNA samples from people who have been arrested and are being booked for a felony]. People v. Buza (2018) 4 Cal.5th 658
U.S. v. Sanjar et al. (5th Cir. 2017) 876 F.3d 725.
ISSUES: (1) Did a search warrant describe the evidence to be seized with sufficient particularity? (2) Did the affidavit establish probable cause to believe that all of the documents to be seized constituted evidence of a crime?
Smith v. City of Santa Clara (9th Cir. 2017) 876 F.3d 987.
ISSUE: Are officers prohibited from conducting a probation search of a residence if an occupant who is not on probation objects to the search?
District of Columbia v. Wesby (2018) __ U.S. __ [138 S.Ct. 577]
ISSUE: Did officers have probable cause to arrest 21 partygoers for unlawfully entering a vacant house?
People v. Almeda et al. (2018) 19 Cal.App.5th 346.
ISSUE: Was a jailhouse informant functioning as a police agent when he elicited incriminating statements from a murder suspect?
In re I.F. (2018) 20 Cal.App.5th 735.
ISSUE: Did officers violate the Miranda rights of a 12-year old murder suspect?