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Case Law Update

Comprehensive summaries of recent court decisions in criminal law, including search and seizure law, federal sentencing guidelines and the law of governmental immunity. The legal update is written by a lawyer, but without all the legal jargon, so you can stay on top of legal developments in the criminal law arena that affect your job.

Title	Published Date	Author
Seventh Circuit holds that a Suspect's Inquiry "Can you Call my Attorney?" Invoked Right to Counsel	23 May 2013	FEDagent
Sixth Circuit holds that Defendant's Action in Responding to Police Officer's Request to Look Inside Car's Locked Glove Compartment Box by Handing Over his Keys to Unlock Box, Even though Defendant gave no Verbal Response, was Sufficient Consent	17 May 2013	FEDagent
Federal Circuit holds that a Federal Air Marshal's Disclosure to the Media of a Plan to Temporarily Suspend Air Marshal Deployment on Overnight Flights was not Prohibited by Law and Might be Entitled to Whistleblower Protection	09 May 2013	FEDagent
Fifth Circuit held that a Dog Alert to Contraband in Car was Probable Cause to Search Paper Inside Defendant's Purse	03 May 2013	FEDagent
Supreme Court holds that Obtaining a Blood Sample to Determine Intoxication is not a per se Exigency, Strongly Encourages Use of New Technologies to Obtain Warrants Instead of Engaging in Warrantless Searches	25 April 2013	FEDagent
Board Finds Agency's Penalty of Removal Unreasonable when Employee had Long History of Federal Service and was going through Extreme Emotional Stress during time of Misconduct	18 April 2013	FEDagent
Arresting Officer was not Required to Give Defendant a Miranda Warning Before Asking "What is in your Pocket?" Upon Encountering a Hard Lump in Defendant's Clothing During the Course of a Lawful Pat Down Incident to Arrest	11 April 2013	FEDagent
Supreme Court holds that when Law Enforcement Officers Assault an Individual, the United States can be sued if the Officer Acted "Within the Scope of his Office or Employment" and not only when the Officer was Engaged in a Search or Seizure	04 April 2013	FEDagent
The Supreme Court Held That a Trained Narcotics Detection Dog Sniff at the Front Door of a Suspected Marijuana-Grow-House is a Fourth Amendment Search That Required Probable Cause	28 March 2013	FEDagent
En Banc Ninth Circuit Panel Finds That Reasonable Suspicion is not Required for Cursory Computer Inspection at the Border, but Reasonable Suspicion is Required for an Invasive Forensic Computer Analysis	21 March 2013	FEDagent
Supreme Court Heard Oral Arguments in Maryland v. King to Decide Whether the Fourth Amendment Allows States to Collect and Analyze DNA From People Arrested and Charged With Serious Crimes	15 March 2013	FEDagent
Fourth Circuit Finds That Carrying a Firearm in an Open-Carry State Does Not Create Reasonable Suspicion and Provides Thorough Analysis of the "Free to Leave" Standard of Seizure	08 March 2013	FEDagent
Supreme Court Held Police Officers Could Not Detain An Occupant Who Leaves The Premises During Or Immediately Before the Execution of a Search Warrant and is Detained at a Point Beyond Any Reasonable Understanding of the Immediate Vicinity of the Premises	01 March 2013	FEDagent
Supreme Court Strikes Florida's Checklist for Dog Sniffs, Finds Training Record of Drug Dogs to be More Probative Than Field Performance	21 February 2013	FEDagent
Ninth Circuit Holds that Police Officers not Entitled to Qualified Immunity after Retaliating Against Appellant for Exercising First Amendment During Noise Violation Stop	15 February 2013	FEDagent
Eighth Circuit holds that Reasonable Suspicion Existed to Stop Vehicle when Two Rental Cars were Driving in Tandem and Drugs were Discovered in other Vehicle	07 February 2013	FEDagent
Fourth Circuit Denies TSA Agents' Qualified Immunity-Based Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's First Amendment Claim	01 February 2013	FEDagent
Fourth Circuit Suppresses Statement Made After Three Hours of Detention without Probable Cause	24 January 2013	FEDagent
District Court Erred in Admitting Evidence Obtained when ICE Agents no longer had Reasonable Suspicion to Believe Defendant Involved in Criminal Activity	18 January 2013	FEDagent
Second Circuit finds that where an Individual gave “the Finger” to a Law Enforcement Officer, the Officer had no Reasonable Suspicion to Detain	11 January 2013	FEDagent
Sixth Circuit Held That There Is No Constitutional Violation During Traffic Stop Where Officers Asked Defendant For His Driver’s License and Registration Only After Asking About The Presence of Contraband	04 January 2013	FEDagent
Tenth Circuit Holds that When a Suspect Handed a Letter Invoking his Right to Counsel which was Composed by his Attorney, the Action was a Valid and Unequivocal Invocation	21 December 2012	FEDagent
Fifth Circuit finds that an Officer who Inflicted Unnecessary Physical Pain on a Detainee Used Excessive Force and thus Violated the Fourth Amendment	13 December 2012	FEDagent
Seventh Circuit Held Miranda Warnings Not Required During FBI Job Interview Where Applicant Admitted To Possession of Child Pornography	06 December 2012	FEDagent
The Tenth Circuit Holds that Arresting an Individual for Obstruction because he Remained Silent and Invoked “Privilege” was Without Probable Cause and thus Violated the Fourth Amendment	30 November 2012	FEDagent
The U.S. Supreme Court Will Decide the Issue of Whether the Fourth Amendment Allows States to Collect and Analyze DNA from People Arrested and Charged (But Not Convicted) of Serious Crimes	15 November 2012	FEDagent
Eleventh Circuit holds that Questions Unrelated to a Stop do not Violate the Fourth Amendment Unless they "Measurably Extend" the Length of the Stop	08 November 2012	FEDagent
The Supreme Court Heard Oral Arguments This Week To Decide Whether Police With Drug Detecting Dogs Can Allow The Dogs To Sniff Around A Person’s Home	02 November 2012	FEDagent
Sixth Circuit Holds that a Suspect Invoked his Right to Counsel when he Wrote “No” to the Question “Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?”	25 October 2012	FEDagent
The Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Arguments To Decide The Issue Of Whether An Alert By A Well-Trained And Certified Drug Detection Dog Is Insufficient To Establish Probable Cause For The Search Of A Vehicle	18 October 2012	FEDagent

Takedowns

Mailing of Pipe Bombs and Threatening Letters Stating "BANG!! YOU'RE DEAD." Lands Iowa Man in Prison for 37 Years

A former Iowa machinist has been sentenced to prison for mailing two pipe bombs and a dozen threatening letters to investment firms and advisors to help increase the value of the stock he owned in two companies.

John Tomkins, from Dubuque, Iowa, received 37 years in prison for, among other things, using a destructive device while mailing a threatening communication. Evidence presented at trial showed that the mailed parcels contained improvised explosive weapons (“pipe bombs”) which were capable of exploding and causing serious injury or death. Each parcel also contained a letter which stated “BANG!! YOU’RE DEAD.” Some of the letters were signed by “THE BISHOP” and concluded with “TIC TOC.”

GEICO's Good Stuff

Navy Prepares to Purchase Ship Network Systems

GEICO’s Good Stuff is a column series highlighting great stuff happening in the federal community.

The Navy may soon be looking to procure standard networking computing equipment for its ships and submarines, according to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.

Navy is expecting to release a request for proposals for the systems before the end of May. The Command had previously awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. an initial contract for its Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services system in February 2012. That contract was valued at $637.8 million and covered installation of the gear on 54 ships.

Case Law Update

Seventh Circuit holds that a Suspect's Inquiry "Can you Call my Attorney?" Invoked Right to Counsel

Casey Hunter was shot by police officers in the course of a pursuit. While Mr. Hunter was in the hospital and under the influence of medically administered morphine, he was Mirandized so that law enforcement officers could interrogate him. Before answering questions, Mr. Hunter requested that officers contact his parents and his criminal defense attorney; Mr. Hunter specifically asked “can you call my attorney?” and identified his attorney by name as Herb Schultz, a criminal defense attorney, who one of the interrogating officers had previously worked with on several occasions. Mr. Hunter’s attorney was not called, and additional law enforcement officers then arrived and subsequently interrogated Mr. Hunter. Mr. Hunter made incriminating statements during his interrogation. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the statements made after the request for access to counsel violated the suspect’s constitutional right to counsel and must be suppressed.

Recent Takedowns

Recent GEICO Good Stuffs

Recent Case Law Updates