Practical case law analysis, officer-safety guidance, and legal updates written for today's law enforcement professionals.
227 articles
Michigan v. Long is a vehicle frisk case about a drunk driver and a visible knife. It says nothing about gang members. A one-percent patch is one factor, and courts want to see the rest of the stack.
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Most DUI statutes cover actual physical control proven circumstantially, so a conviction without seeing the driving is possible. The intervening drink at home is what breaks this particular case.
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No receipt, no serial number, and a bike tied up beside a tent. When ownership is contested and the circumstantial evidence is thin, the move is to stay neutral and send them to civil court.
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No privacy interest in what is printed on an envelope. The problem is lawful access: walking onto the curtilage just to check a mailbox is a Jardines trespass.
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There is no stale felony rule. If you have probable cause that the person committed a felony, you can arrest days later, and you can Mirandize him about it.
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Cady v. Dombrowski is the anchor. Caniglia, Valencia and Chavez are different cases. With a gun in plain view in an unregistered car in a public lot, the initial seizure likely holds.
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Hiibel upheld Nevada’s stop and identify statute but left the how much information question open. Identify them with your tools first, and ask whether it still matters.
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Once you leave the house you generally lose your right to be there. The necessary and continuous doctrine is the narrow way back in, and plain view is grab and go.
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A 911 hangup by itself is thin. The rule is the emergency aid exception, not community caretaking, and you need to articulate something more.
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