Recently Added Cases

Surveillance-

US v. Jones, ____ US 10–1259 (2012)-Held: "The Government’s attachment of the GPS device to the vehicle, and its use of that device to monitor the vehicle’s movements, constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment." This case differs from Knotts in that the government intruded onto Jone's vehicle and hid a GPS tracking device. This device enabled the government to track in detail every movement of the vehicle, even into private areas.

Use of Force-

Isom v. Town of Warren Rhode Island, 360 F.3d (1st Cir. 2004)-Isom was emotionally disturbed. He was armed with an ax and entered a liquor store where he took hostages. An officer pepper sprayed him. He turned, raised the ax, and charged the officers. He was shot and killed. The family sued claiming the pepper spraying of Isom inflamed the situation leading to the use of deadly force. The Court held that the actions of the officers was reasonable.

Kesinger Estate of Kesinger v. Herrington, 381 F. 3d 1243-Kesinger was a mentally ill person standing in traffic wanting to commit suicide. A plain-clothed detective named Herrington saw him and stopped his vehicle. He motioned Kesinger to get out of the traffic. kesinger charged him down. Kesinger told him that both of them were going to die. Herrington retreated to his vehicle. Kesinger attacked him. He heard two loud banging sounds and his car windows shattered. He thought the he was being shot at. Herrington returned fire and killed Kesinger. Kesinger broke the windows with his fists. He did not have a gun. The Court held that he shooting was justified.

Exigent Circumstances-

Ryburn v. Huff, 565 U. S. ____ (2012)-Police went to the Huff's house to talk to Vincent Huff, a juvenile student who was rumored to have written a letter threatening to "shoot up" the school. He had been absent for two days and is frequently bullied. His classmates believed that he was capable of carrying out the threat. The police knocked on the door, but got no response. They called the house, and still no response. They called Mrs. Huff's cell phone. She answered and said she was in the house. She told the police that Vincent was with her. Mrs. Huff hung up on the officer while he was talking to her. A few minutes later The mother and son came out. The police asked to come inside to talk. Mrs. Huff refused. In the officer's opinion, this refusal was very unusual. The officer asked Mrs. Huff if there were guns in the house. She responded by turning around and running into the house. The officers, fearing for their safety, chased her into the house. The officers remained in the house even after Mr. Huff came out of another room and challenged their authority to be in his house. They questioned Vincent and after approx. 10 minutes determined that the rumors were false and they left. The Huffs sued the police for violating their 4th Amendment rights by entering their home without a warrant.

The Supreme Court held that it was objectionably reasonable under the totality of the circumstances for the police officers to believe violence was imminent justifying the warrantless entry.

Evidence-

Perry v. New Hampshire, ____ US 10–8974 (2011)- If the defendant cannot establish that the conduct of law enforcement created an unnecessarily suggestive identification, the identification cannot be excluded.

Civil-

Brady v. Maryland, 373 U. S. 83 (1963)-Suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused who has requested it violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution. This case is important to law enforcement and police conduct. If a police officer makes a false police report, lies on the stand, or has a history of inappropriate or criminal behavior are issues of credibility and the prosecution needs to reveal this to the defense before allowing you to testify in a case. If a police officer has a history of lying, he has no credibility. Therefore, his career as an officer is all but over.

Home-

Mascorro v. Billings, 10-7005 (2011)-A police officer saw a known juvenile pass him at night without functioning taillights. The officer turned to stop the vehicle. The driver drove two blocks to his home and ran inside before the officer could catch and stop him. The officer forced his way in against the consent of the parents pepper spraying them in the process. The juvenile was found and arrested in the bathroom. The Court held that an officer must have:

Both of these must occur before an officer can enter a home and make an arrest without a warrant. In this case, a minor traffic offense was not serious and did not justify the warrantless entry and arrest. A serious offense can be either a felony or misdemeanor. Either one, however, must have a very strong justification. A DUI charge does not meet the criteria, see Welch v. Wisonsin, but AWOL does see Bledsoe v. Garcia.

Major Cases-

McDonald v. City of Chicago, 08-1521 (2010)-The Second Amendment of the Constitution right to have a handgun in the home for self-protection applies to the states. See District of Columbia v. Heller.

Stop and Frisk-

Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352 (1983)-A California statute requires persons loitering or wandering the streets to identify themselves with "credible and reliable" identification when requested by a peace officer. The Supreme Court held that the statute was, "unconstitutionally vague on its face because it encourages arbitrary enforcement by failing to describe with sufficient particularity what a suspect must do in order to satisfy the statute."

Juvenile-

Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002)-The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 18 U. S. C. § 2256(8) sections (B) and (D) were ruled unconstitutionally vague. (B) refers to the ban on computer generated images that depict a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. (D) refers to the use of youthful-looking adults portraying children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.