Blue to Gold Resources

Legal insights for the street.

Practical case law analysis, officer-safety guidance, and legal updates written for today's law enforcement professionals.

Latest guidance

From the Legal Desk

231 articles

When Does a Hotel Room Become a Home?
4th Amendment Basics

When Does a Hotel Room Become a Home?

Here is our next question: When does a hotel room become a home or an apartment? If a hotel room is actually constitutionally considered a true home, then you may not be able to evict the occupants without a traditional pre-approval. So let s walk through this doctrine. Is a hotel room treated like a home?

October 26, 2023 Blue to Gold
Read Article
Consent from Non-Owner to Search Vehicle
Traffic Stops and Vehicles

Consent from Non-Owner to Search Vehicle

Let s talk about non-owners of vehicles and getting their consent to search, and a few twists on that as well. My name is Anthony Bandiero, answering another roadside chat question. Alright, this question comes from an officer in Minnesota. He says, “Could a driver of a motor vehicle who is not the owner, consent to

October 26, 2023 Blue to Gold
Read Article
Denying Consent to Search
Consensual Encounters

Denying Consent to Search

Here’s our question from an officer in Minnesota. Does denying consent to search also end the consensual encounter? All right, good question. If, during a consensual encounter, I asked for consent to search their bag, their person, their vehicle, and they deny consent, can I continue the consensual encounter to try to build reasonable suspicion,

October 26, 2023 Blue to Gold
Read Article
Frisking a Student Based on an Anonymous Tip
Businesses and Schools

Frisking a Student Based on an Anonymous Tip

The question is: “Which Fourth Amendment exception allows a school police officer to search a juvenile on campus based on an anonymous tip that the juvenile has a gun?” Alright, so we re dealing with a lot of different things here. Let s walk through it. First off, is the tip truly anonymous? In this day and

October 26, 2023 Blue to Gold
Read Article
Reasonable Suspicion Stop for a Texas Buyer Tag
Traffic Stops and Vehicles

Reasonable Suspicion Stop for a Texas Buyer Tag

Did the Texas buyer plate give the officer proper reasonable suspicion to make the traffic stop? So this officer sees a vehicle at almost midnight in an area that s kind of known for high crime and so forth, and sees a vehicle bearing a Texas buyer’s plate. Why did the officer stop the car with

October 26, 2023 Blue to Gold
Read Article
Put guidance into practice

Train with instructors who know the law—and the street.

Find Training