$150K settlement reached in false arrest lawsuit
A former San Carlos, Calif. resident has settled for $150,000 after suing two police officers who broke into his home with guns drawn after a minor car crash in 2003, his attorney said. Read the full...
View ArticleCity must have probable cause to inspect home
A city was required to satisfy the traditional probable cause standard in order to obtain a court order for the inspection of a home for zoning violations, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled in...
View ArticleDecision leaves retaliatory arrest issue unsettled
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to clearly answer the question of whether plaintiffs can bring First Amendment-based retaliatory arrest claims despite the existence of probable cause....
View ArticleTraffic stop for speeding violated Fourth Amendment
A police officer did not have probable cause for a traffic stop because he relied solely on his visual estimate that the driver was traveling 75 mph in a 70-mph zone, the 4th Circuit has ruled in...
View ArticleLaw enforcement cell phone data requests surge
WASHINGTON – Last year, federal, state and local law enforcement authorities made more than 1.3 million requests for consumers’ cell phone records, according to wireless carriers’ response to a...
View ArticlePolice needed probable cause to tase fleeing suspect
Police needed probable cause in order to stop the flight of a suspected drug suspect by firing Taser darts into his back, Maryland’s highest court has ruled in reversing the denial of a motion to...
View ArticleSupreme Court puts drug dogs’ noses to the test
WASHINGTON – Oral arguments in two Fourth Amendment cases before the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday focused on a common question: just what does a dog’s nose know? In both cases, criminal defendants...
View ArticleBenchmarks: Flipped-off cop couldn’t initiate traffic stop
The 2nd Circuit yesterday revived the civil rights suit of a man who was stopped and arrested after flipping off a police officer he observed manning a speed trap. “This ancient gesture of insult is...
View ArticleCourts divided over cellphone search cases
The question of whether the warrantless search of a cellphone's content violates the Fourth Amendment has divided state and federal courts, making it one of the thorniest legal issues around.
View ArticlePolice could search car passenger based on odor of marijuana
A strong odor of marijuana emanating from the interior of a lawfully stopped automobile justified the warrantless search of the vehicle’s passenger, the Illinois Appellate Court has ruled in affirming...
View Article
