One of the most dubious legal doctrines in the scheme of addressing the harm done by law enforcement officers to others is qualified immunity. It’s entirely judge-made law, appearing nowhere in the statute, making it one of those inexplicable concepts to explain to non-lawyers when we discuss how the law works. Textualism? Originalism? The canons of statutory interpretation? It all sounds like total crap when one considers that qualified immunity, a monumental impediment to the clear reach of 42 U.S.C. §1983, creating a cause of action for violation of constitutional rights, came out of nowhere. The putative rule is that a police officer enjoys qualified immunity for his actions unless they violate a “clearly established right.” These three words would seem pretty easy to interpret, and yet they’re a nightmare. Rather than make it clearer, the Supreme Court gave courts a near-total pass on holding that a fact pattern failed to violate a clearly…
The Double Down On Qualified Immunity
↧
↧
HUGO COYA Y RECUERDOS DE CORIN TELLADO
http://elcomercio.pe/opinion/columnistas/bullying-nombre-luis-hugo-coya-noticia-1976951?ref=portada_home “Nadie niega el papel fundamental de la familia en la formación de niños y niñas, pero tampoco se puede soslayar la importancia que poseen los maestros y la educación, especialmente escolar, en la instauración o no de conceptos como bondad, maldad, egoísmo, tolerancia, igualdad, convivencia entre distintos.” “Es hora de que la escuela se transforme en un lugar seguro para todos y no en un espacio de persecución al diferente. Evitemos que la única esperanza que les quede a los estudiantes, quienes hoy sufren o serán testigos de este tipo de violencia, sea apenas escribir líneas como estas en el futuro, a modo de desahogo. No hacerlo se convertirá, a la larga, en un auténtico suicidio general como sociedad.” MI OPINIÓN Bastante más joven (por la…
↧
WaPo: 9th Circuit oral argument on historical cell-site information
WaPo: 9th Circuit oral argument on historical cell-site information by Orin Kerr: Several federal circuits have ruled that there is no Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy in historical cell-site location information. The 9th Circuit held argument on the question … Continue reading →
↧
You Can’t Plead Guilty Without Admitting Guilt
I am watching a guilty plea from the gallery. The prosecutor reads out the alleged facts from the police report, and the defendant says, yes, that is what happened. The colloquy continues. The defendant then tells the judge... Read More
↧
NYTimes: Door-Busting Drug Raids Leave a Trail of Blood
NYTimes: Door-Busting Drug Raids Leave a Trail of Blood by Kevin Sack: Using SWAT officers to storm into homes to execute search warrants has led time and again to avoidable deaths, gruesome injuries and costly legal settlements. (with video)
↧
↧
D.Alaska: Installing GPS on a package with an anticipatory warrant didn’t require SW
An anticipatory search warrant was issued for 1921 but was delivered to 1911 because of the use of false addresses. The police entered to seize the package. Defendant doesn’t show he has standing in either the package or the place … Continue reading →
↧
D.Ariz.: Cell phone border search valid, here with RS
A cell phone can be searched at the border with reasonable suspicion, and the facts of this case rise to this standard. The court doesn’t have to decide whether the search could occur without in the Ninth Circuit. United States … Continue reading →
↧
CA8: Search of def’s car for gun was reasonable as a SI even though def was arrested away from the car
Police received a 911 call about a road rage incident and flashing of a gun. They found the vehicle described in the call in a strip mall parking lot. They finally found the driver and detained him, ultimately handcuffing him. … Continue reading →
↧
Kerr: Oregon AG’s Office argues to State SCT that ex ante search restrictions on computer warrants not ok.
Orin Kerr on Twitter: Oregon AG’s Office argues to State SCT that ex ante search restrictions on computer warrants not ok. State v Mansor https://orinkerrblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/2017_wl_944311.pdf …
↧
↧
LA4: Probation search unreasonable because PO not there; clearly pretext for criminal search
The collection of officers from several law enforcement agencies for a probation “compliance check” shows that it wasn’t a bona fide probation search. “Given the totality of the circumstances, the compliance check was unreasonably pretextual. Agents Bertrand and Hardy should … Continue reading →
↧
Time Limits on Technical Violations of Probation
If I had a dollar for every time someone told me “Oh, its only a technical violation of probation”, I would be rich. Actually, if you consider the fact that 71% of the world lives on less than $10/day, I probably am rich. And, so are you. Which reminds me, no matter how rich you are, it is often your skills of “comparison” that can make you happy or sad. It is said that German billionaire Adolf Merckle killed himself because he watched his fortunes decline $4,000,000,000. Now, a 4 billion dollar loss is a big deal, no doubt, but the man had over $12 billion, so after the loss he still had $8.5 billion on the day he committed suicide. Would he live his life any differently being “worth” 8 billion vs. 12 billion? No. The man drove a 4-year old VW Golf. Ok. Back to the law. This brief article is a tad more technical than my typical ramblings. We’re going to delve into how a…
↧
Crazy DUIs of the 21st Century
Most DUI arrests don’t get a lot of attention from the general public or news media unless they involve a celebrity and/or result in a horrendous accident. Over the last two decades, however, there have been several arrests for DUI that have attracted widespread media notice and/or gone viral because they are simply so outrageous or bizarre. Here’s a sampling. The family that drinks together… Continue reading
↧
S.D.Ga.: A general motion to suppress a DUI roadblock is denied; that “Something must be wrong here” doesn’t cut it
A general motion to suppress a DUI roadblock on a military base is denied for lack of content of fact or law. United States v. Jefferson, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37096 (S.D. Ga. March 15, 2017): Similarly, “roadblock defendants” don’t … Continue reading →
↧
↧
E.D.Tenn.: Passenger’s seatbelt violation supports stop
The officer testified that the reason for this stop was that the passenger wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The court credits the officer, and nothing, including the video, disproves it. “Given Posey’s vast experience detecting seatbelt violations, it is entirely plausible … Continue reading →
↧
Fungible Judge and The General Warrant
The obvious initial focus is on the almost mind-blowing scope of the warrant. A MINNESOTA BANK received a call in January from who they thought was Douglas, their customer, asking to wire transfer $28,500 from a line of credit to another bank. To verify the transaction, the bank relied on a faxed copy of his passport. But it wasn’t him, the passport was fake, and the transfer request was fraudulent. The Edina Police Department figured out that while searching Google Images for the victim’s name, they found the photo used on the fake passport, and investigators couldn’t find it on Yahoo or Bing. So, they theorized the suspect must have searched Google for the victim’s name while making the fake passport. Oh no. A googler in Edina, Minnesota. population 47, 941. What are the chances? Edina Police Detective David Lindman detailed this theory in an application for a search warrant filed in early February,…
↧
S.D.W.Va.: Flagrant violation of 4A with warrantless GPS on car doesn’t get suppressed because of def’s lack of standing at time of search
The police flagrantly violated the Fourth Amendment by placing a GPS device on a car without a warrant. Defendant was the target, but he’d sold and relinquished control of the car to another days later by the time of the … Continue reading →
↧
W.D.Ark.: Def counsel has apparent authority to receive property returned after arrest
In a civil action for return of property: “In the specific context of the disposition of property, district courts have found that the government acts appropriately when it disposes of property in a manner consistent with actions or representations made … Continue reading →
↧
↧
S.D.Fla.: Pictures on def’s Instagram account corroborated CIs
Defendant’s Instagram pages allowed agents to see photographs of firearms and bottles of promethazine with codeine (“molly”) and marijuana. Defendant was already a suspected molly distributor with two prior cocaine convictions, and that substantially helped show probable cause for a … Continue reading →
↧
AL: Lack of an inventory sheet fatal to the state’s claim the search was valid as an inventory
The lack of an inventory sheet fatal to the state’s claim the search was valid as an inventory. Keith v. State, 2017 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 14 (March 17, 2017): The record in the present case contains the same defects … Continue reading →
↧
TN: Overbroad certified question for appeal, such as “the [in]validity of the search and seizure,” leads to dismissal
In a non-search case, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals dismisses an appeal for an overbroad “certified question” for appeal, citing from a 2001 search and seizure case where the issue was presented as “the validity of the search and … Continue reading →
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
