The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in Johnson v. Myers, 129 F.4th 1189 (9th Cir. 2025), where the Court considered whether a suspect posed an immediate threat to officers for purposes of determining whether the officers’ use of deadly force was justified. The case reached the Court after Ryan Smith was shot and killed by two Seattle police
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently addressed the intersection of modern surveillance technology and the Fourth Amendment in United States v. Harry, 130 F.4th 342 (2d Cir. 2025). As part of an ongoing investigation into suspected drug trafficking activities, DEA agents employed a stationary pole camera to continuously monitor the exterior of Action Audio Store for approximately 50 days without
On May 15, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States released its long-anticipated opinion in Barnes v. Felix, S.Ct.., 2025 WL 1401083. The unanimous 9-0 decision clarified and reiterated several critical principles for assessing use of deadly force cases. A police officer’s use of deadly force violates the Fourth Amendment when it is not “objectively reasonable.”[1] The inquiry into reasonableness requires assessing the
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently analyzed the case Baca v. Cosper, where the Court considered whether a police officer’s use of deadly force against a mentally diminished elderly woman was objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. The decision addresses a crucial issue in law enforcement: determining when a knife-wielding individual actually poses an immediate threat justifying lethal force, and what the law requires
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a recent decision in United States v. Poller, 129 F.4th 169 (2d Cir. 2025). As part of an ongoing investigation into suspected drug and weapons offenses, officers executing search and arrest warrants approached the suspect’s vehicle—parked on a public street outside his residence—and used an iPhone camera to examine its interior. On February 20, 2025,
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently issued a decision in the case of United States v. Rose, where the Court considered whether officers’ observations of tinted windows can establish probable cause for a traffic stop and whether employing a drug-detection dog, along with subsequent arrests and searches, can withstand constitutional scrutiny.[1] This case originated with a routine traffic stop in
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently issued a decision in the case Stearns v. Wagner, 122 F.4th 699 (8th Cir. 2024), which arose in the wake of George Floyd’s death after large-scale protests erupted nationwide. This §1983 lawsuit challenges a Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant’s crowd-control tactics after a protester was injured by a deployed projectile. Factual Background On May
Qualified Immunity Upheld: Crowd Control and First Amendment Rights Under Review Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a recent decision in Puente v. City of Phoenix1, a case that examines law enforcement’s application of force when attempting to maintain order in response to large crowd-control situations. Arising from a protest outside a rally for then-President Trump in Phoenix, Arizona in 2017, the Phoenix Convention Center drew a crowd of demonstrators that required a safety-response plan
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued a decision which considered the scope of law enforcement’s authority to conduct a warrantless vehicle search incident to a lawful arrest based on a valid arrest warrant. The case, United States v. Turner, stems from several incidents that took place in North Carolina, over roughly two days in June of 2020. After
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently rendered a decision in Meshal v. Commissioner, Georgia Dept. of Public Safety, where the Court considered under what circumstances an officer may be denied qualified immunity for extending a traffic stop. Specifically, is a call to the FBI concerning a driver’s status on the No-Fly List equivalent to a warrants check? The case