Articles
Searches by Civilians and Police Agents (130KB)
Citizens' Arrests (114KB)
Searches and Detentions on School Grounds (75KB)
Consent Searches (218KB)
Third Party Consent (136KB)
The Right to Counsel in Criminal Investigations (193KB)
Police Surveillance (161KB)
Recent Cases
People v. Garry(63Kb) (California Court of Appeal (First District, Div.2) November 13, 2007) (2007) __ Cal.App.4th __ [2007 WL 3342586] : ISSUE: Did a de facto detention result when an officer spotlighted and approached a suspected drug dealer on a street corner?
U.S. v. Copening(49Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (10th Circuit) October 31, 2007) (10th Cir. 2007) __ F.3d. __ [2007 WL 3173961] : ISSUE: Can officers stop a car to investigate an anonymous citizen's report to 911 that the driver is carrying a concealed weapon?
U.S. v. Barnes(44Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (1st Circuit) October 29, 2007) (1st Cir. 2007) __ F.3d __ [2007 WL 3133807] : ISSUE: Did officers have sufficient grounds to conduct a visual body cavity search of an arrestee?
U.S. v. Holmes(49Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Circuit) October 23, 2007) (D.C. Cir. 2007) __ F.3d __ [2007 WL 3071629] : ISSUE: (1) Was the pat search of the defendant conducted in an illegal manner? (2) If so, was the handgun they subsequently discovered admissible under either the inevitable discovery or attenuation rules?
People v. Chun(67Kb) (California Court of Appeal September 14, 2007) (2007) __ Cal.App.4th __ (2007 WL 2687455) : ISSUE: While questioning a 16-year old murder suspect, did an officer engage in coercive interrogation tactics? ***NOTE: The California Supreme Court has granted review of this case. It is no longer citable authority. U.S. v. Grigg(72Kb)* (U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) August 22, 2007) (9th Cir. 2007) __ F.3d. __ [2007 WL 2379615] : ISSUE: Could officers detain a motorist to investigate a report that he had been driving while blasting his car stereo?
U.S. v. Diaz-Castaneda(44Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) July 18, 2007) (9th Cir. 2007) __ F.3d __ [2007 WL 2044244] : ISSUE: Can officers conduct license plate checks of vehicles without some legal justification?
U.S. v. Forrester(47Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) July 01, 2007) (9th Cir. 2007) __ F.3d __ [2007 WL 1952390] : ISSUE: If officers want to monitor a suspect?s email and internet activity, can they utilize the expeditious pen register procedure?
People v. Thornton(45Kb) (California Supreme Court June 28, 2007) (2007) __ Cal.4th __ [2007 WL 1839127] : ISSUE: Did an officer violate a murder suspect?s Miranda rights by arranging a meeting between the suspect and his grandmother, during which the suspect made several incriminating statements?
U.S. v. Diaz(50Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) June 22, 2007) (9th Cir. 2007) 491 F.3d 1074 : ISSUE: Did officers have sufficient reason to believe that a suspect was inside his home when they forcibly entered to execute an arrest warrant?
Brendlin v. California(51Kb) (United States Supreme Court June 18, 2007) (2007) __ U.S. __ [2007 WL 1730143] : ISSUE: When officers make a traffic stop, is everyone in the car automatically detained, or just the driver?
U.S. v. Narvaez-Gomez(58Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) June 01, 2007) (9th Cir. 2007) 489 F.3d 970 : ISSUE: Did an officer utilize the illegal "two step" tactic when questioning the defendant?
Scott v. Harris(38Kb) (United States Supreme Court April 30, 2007) (2007) __ U.S. __ [2007 WL 1237851] : ISSUE: When may officers attempt to end a vehicle pursuit by causing the driver to lose control of his car?
People v. Verdugo(40Kb)* (California Court of Appeal April 17, 2007) (2006) __ Cal.App.4th__ [2007 WL 1347679] : ISSUE: When may officers demand proof of insurance during traffic stops?
U.S. v. Graham(43Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (6th Circuit) April 12, 2007) (6th Cir. 2007) 483 F.3d. 431 : ISSUE: Did officers have grounds to conduct a protective search of the defendant's car?
People v. Macklem(62Kb) (California Court of Appeal April 10, 2007) (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 674 : ISSUE: Was a county jail inmate ?in custody? for Miranda purposes when he was questioned about a jailhouse assault?
People v. Herndon(41Kb) (California Court of Appeal (2nd Dist., Div. 7) April 01, 2007) (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 274 : ISSUE: Was Herndon's right to due process violated when, under orders from the trial judge, baliffs forcibly rolled his fingerprints in a courtroom?
People v. Strasburg(39Kb) (California Court of Appeal March 22, 2007) (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 1052 : ISSUE: If officers have probable cause to search a car for marijuana, is the search unlawful if they know the driver possesses a medical marijuana card?
People v. Dolly(43Kb) (California Supreme Court February 01, 2007) __ Cal.4th __ [2007 WL 269449] : ISSUE: Under what circumstances may officers detain a suspect based on an anonymous call?
People v. Perdomo(43Kb) (California Court of Appeal February 01, 2007) (2007) __ Cal.App.4th __ [2007 WL 404000] : ISSUE: Did officers utilize coercion in obtaining a statement from the badly-injured driver of a car involved in a fatal traffic accident?
Gillan v. City of San Marino(41Kb) (California Court of Appeal January 25, 2007) (2007) 147 Cal.App.4th 1033 : ISSUE: Did officers have probable cause to arrest a high school basketball coach for sexually molesting one of his players?
U.S. v. Ramirez(45Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) January 16, 2007) (9th Cir. 2007) __ F.3d __ [2007 WL 92629] : ISSUE: When an officer makes a car stop based solely on a request from another officer with probable cause, is the stop unlawful if the officer who made the stop was unaware of the facts upon which probable cause was based?
Fisher v. City of San Jose(57Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) January 16, 2007) __ F.3d __ [2007 WL 92689] : ISSUE: Did exigent circumstances justify a warrantless entry into Fisher's apartment to arrest him?
U.S. v. Buckner(42Kb) (U.S. Court of Appeals (4th Circuit) January 11, 2007) __ F.3d __ [2006 WL 64268] : ISSUE: Did officers reasonably believe that the defendant's wife could consent to a search of a computer located in the family's living room? Did it matter that the incriminating files were password-protected by the defendant?