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The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently released a ruling in Conlon v. Scaltreto. This case stems from a police response to a mental health crisis and examines how courts will evaluate the totality of the circumstances when key facts about the immediacy of the threat and the use of lethal force remain disputed. In January 2021, Newton Police Officer […]

We head to the Fourth Circuit to examine the recent and consequential ruling in United States v. Johnson. This case serves as a critical exploration of Fourth Amendment boundaries, specifically regarding the distinction between protected curtilage and common property in multi-unit dwellings during warrantless K9 sniffs. The Facts of the Case In March 2019, Washington County law enforcement officers collaborated with the DEA to investigate

The Fourth Amendment draws its sharpest line at the front door of a home, but that line is often blurred as modern policing increasingly intersects with mental health crisis response and the need to render emergency aid. On January 14, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States addressed this intersection in Case v. Montana, 607 U. S. ____ (2026), where the high Court considered “whether law

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently released a decision in United States v. Radaker-Carter, a case that considers suggestiveness regarding reliability and admissibility of police identification procedures. This case highlights that evidence identifying someone as a suspect usually cannot be thrown out on the grounds that a witness saw a picture from a friend before a police lineup, unless the

For years, “positional asphyxia” has been the buzzword. However, the data is shifting. This conversation pivots toward metabolic acidosis, which is a physiological crisis that occurs when the body’s chemistry turns toxic during a prolonged struggle.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently rendered an opinion in United States v. Tovar, a case that deals with human trafficking charges and considers whether the use of a cell phone or the Internet is sufficient to satisfy a federal statute’s interstate commerce element. Summary of Facts In 2022, federal agents in Florida conducted an undercover operation to target