Third Circuit: Payton Reasonable Suspicion Standard is the “Equivalent” of Probable Cause
The Third Circuit recently joined the likes of the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits to hold that officers possessing only an arrest warrant may not enter a home without probable cause to believe that an arrestee resides at and is present within the residence.
Imprecise Translation Does Not Necessarily Invalidate Consent
Defendant’s acquiescence to the question, “May I look for your car?” constituted his valid consent to a search of his vehicle under the circumstances, the Seventh Circuit recently held.
Fourth Amendment Protections Do Not Apply to Metadata Involving Wireless Communications
The Sixth Circuit recently found that metadata used to route communications on wireless phones are business records, created and maintained by wireless carriers. As such, the FBI’s possession of these materials, without a warrant, was not a search under the Fourth Amendment.
Community Caretaking Exception Overrides Homeowner’s Objection to Search
Law enforcement entry into a home, over the homeowner’s objection, was justified because officers reasonably believed a person inside was potentially unable to communicate and held against her will or otherwise in danger, the Eighth Circuit held.
Seventh Circuit Extends the Supreme Court’s Opinion in Jardines to the Common Areas of Apartment Complexes
The Seventh Circuit recently held that the use of a “super-sensitive instrument” outside an apartment door violates a defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights. Justifying its holding, the court discussed that people of different ethnicities and race as well as of lower income are more likely to reside in apartment complexes and need to be afforded protection.
Ninth Circuit: No Fourth Amendment Requirement to Inform Suspect of Reason for Stop
An investigatory stop may still be lawful even if the officer falsely cites a ground that is not supported by reasonable suspicion as the basis for the stop, the Ninth Circuit recently held.
Not All Grounds for a Warrant Must be Valid
Only one ground of an affidavit in support of a search warrant needs to be supported by probable cause for a district court to deny a Franks hearing request, the Eighth Circuit recently held.
While Noting the “Consent Once Removed” Doctrine as “Expendable,” the 7th Circuit Still Finds Warrantless Search Constitutional
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently found a warrantless search constitutional, noting it would be a “miscarriage of justice” to allow the defendants to go scot-free. In doing so, the court of appeals deemed the “consent once removed” doctrine “expendable.”
“Knock and Talk” Okay, Despite “No Trespassing” Signage
“No Trespassing” signs do not per se prevent officers from conducting a knock and talk at a residence.
Even with a Diminished Expectation of Privacy, Suspicionless Searches of a Probationer’s Phone Found Unreasonable
The Ninth Circuit recently held that a probationer’s Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures was violated when probation officers conducted suspicionless searches of his cell phone.
Federal Agents Protected after Claims of Excessive Force and Unreasonable Seizure Made by Bottling Company and Its Employees
A bottling company and its employees recently brought Bivens claims against federals agents for violating their Fourth Amendment rights when executing a white collar search warrant. The Eighth Circuit held that the agents’ actions were reasonable.
Officer’s Use of English Was Not Coercive, Says Fifth Circuit
The Fifth Circuit recently concluded that an officer’s use of English to ask a suspect with a language barrier for consent was not coercive.
Grant of Qualified Immunity Reversed in § 1983 Claim of Excessive Force and Denial of Medical Care
The First Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment on a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim of excessive force, supervisory liability, and denial of medical care in violation of defendant’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Sixth Circuit: Continuous, Warrantless Fixed-Point Surveillance Okay
Ten weeks of continuous, warrantless surveillance from a public utility pole did not violate a defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights, the Sixth Circuit held.
Agents’ Failure to Provide Sufficient Notice of Warrant Did Not Violate the Fourth Amendment
The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently held that the procedural violations of FBI agents in failing to provide sufficient notice of a warrant did not violate a defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights.
Fourth Circuit Finds Repeated Tasering of Mentally Ill Man Excessive Force
The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court decision granting officers qualified immunity after Tasering Ronald H. Armstrong five times. Mr. Armstrong died of suffocation.
Marshals Granted Qualified Immunity after Tasering and Arresting a Wrongfully Identified Suspect
In April 2009, Deputy U.S. Marshals Sean Franklin and Christopher Wallace tasered, arrested, and interrogated Mr. Stuart Wright, who was wrongfully identified as a suspected armed and dangerous felon.
Court of Federal Claims Cannot Overturn a Criminal Conviction
To the extent a plaintiff attempts to use a suit to challenge his criminal conviction in the Court of Federal Claims, that court lacks jurisdiction to hear it, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently held.
Community Caretaking Not Applicable to Residential Searches Seeking Fleeing Suspect
Where an officer was indisputably engaged in an ongoing criminal investigation when a warrantless search occurred, the community caretaking exception to the Fourth Amendment did not apply, the First Circuit recently held.
Tenth Circuit Finds Kansas Anti-Subrogation Regulation Preempted by Federal Law
An anti-subrogation regulation in Kansas preventing insurers from issuing policies containing subrogation clauses came into conflict with the Federal Employees Health Benefit Act (“FEHBA”), but the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal common law preempted the Kansas regulation.