Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat

Eighth Circuit: Officers Denied Qualified Immunity after Search of Entire Domicile Not Justified under Community Caretaker Exception

In the middle of the night, a drunk man in his 30s took a taxi from St. Louis to Ballwin, Missouri, asked the taxi driver to stop on the street near the home of Jon Luer and his wife, Andrea Steinebach, and exited the taxi without paying his $65 fare. The driver reported the fare skipper to the police at 2:38 am, and officers arrived on the scene 2:45 am.

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Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat

Supreme Court Denies Qualified Immunity, Finding that Law Is Clear Inmates Require Clean Cells

Trent Taylor is an inmate at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. For six days in September 2013, Taylor claimed that correctional officers confined him in two different unsanitary cells. In the first, the floor, the ceiling, the window, the walls, and even the water faucet were covered in feces. Taylor did not eat or drink for four days because he feared that he would consume contaminated products.

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