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High-Stakes Traffic Stop: When Guns, Fugitives, and Family Collide

Background   In Hemry v. Ross, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed the issues of false arrest and excessive force during an investigative stop when Yellowstone National Park Rangers mistook the identity of a family, believing that they were a wanted fugitive tied to the murders of three women.1 While the district court denied qualified immunity to the rangers, the Tenth Circuit Court […]

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First Circuit Finds No Expectation of Privacy for Trespasser’s Firearms

United States v. John is a case that deals with search and seizure in relation to a trespasser’s supposed expectation of privacy.1 The district court denied the Defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence based on Fourth Amendment grounds, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment, holding that the denial to suppress was proper. On November 10, 2018, law enforcement officers were

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Armed with Knowledge: Unraveling the Complexities of Policing Open Carry in a Constitutional Crossfire

In a recent case from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Pierner-Lytge v. Hobbs, the court addressed the implications for law enforcement officers when confronted with a situation that involves the open carry of firearms in public spaces, public safety, and the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Pierner-Lytge was arrested by officers for disorderly conduct in a public park. Upon her arrest, the

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How Qualified Immunity is Affected by Clearly Established Law

Our case today from the Tenth Circuit covers qualified immunity and excessive force and brings up another case that is important to note when handling qualified immunity: Heck v. Humphrey. While we often discuss qualified immunity cases, many of them are dismissed under Heck v. Humphrey. In Heck v. Humphrey, the Supreme Court held that a plaintiff could not bring a civil-rights claim for

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Reasonable Fear, Actual Fear, and Weapons: United States v. Guerrero

The case under discussion today from the First Circuit revisits the idea of actual fear versus reasonable fear an officer might face when stopping a vehicle. This concept is crucial because an officer is permitted to search a car without a warrant if there is reasonable suspicion that weapons might be involved. Two significant cases, Michigan v. Long and United States v. Lott, are

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Tools of Convenience or Exigent Circumstances?

Police officers responded to a 911 call reporting domestic violence at Jaquanna Foreman’s residence. Foreman informed the officers that her former boyfriend, Erick Hobbs, had come to her home, brandished a semi-automatic handgun, and used the gun to break a window in her home. Hobbs then entered the home and took a television. Foreman also stated that Hobbs threatened to kill her, her daughter,

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​​When Tactical Operations & Mental Health Crises Collide

​In Coronado v. Olsen, Fernando Coronado and his wife filed a §1983 claim against two SWAT officials that responded to a 911 dispatch call for domestic violence and alleged suicide threats.1 Coronado complained that Officers Hill and Olsen used excessive force when using their tasers to subdue him. ​West Valley City’s SWAT team arrived at Coronado’s home and began immediate attempts to negotiate with

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Kilos and Following Your Intuition: United States v. Ahmad

Today’s case from the Seventh Circuit reviews a Fourth Amendment seizure that occurred during a suspicious conversation that arose after Deputy Derek Suttles followed his intuition when two gentlemen were acting strangely at a truck stop. As a reminder, a person is seized under the Fourth Amendment when, viewing the totality of the circumstances surrounding the encounter, a reasonable person would have believed that

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Mouthy Detainees and Excessive Force: Johnson v. City of Miami Beach

Today’s case from the Eleventh Circuit examines an excessive use of force that ultimately ended in an officer being denied qualified immunity. Qualified immunity protects officers from civil liability unless their conduct violates clearly established constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. In excessive force cases, whether a plaintiff’s constitutional rights were violated is governed by the Fourth Amendment’s objective reasonableness

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Anticipations Rise: Fifth Circuit’s Reconsidered Ruling on Pivotal Case for Citizen Journalism, Free Speech, and Qualified Immunity Awaited

The recent case of Villarreal v. City of Laredo has brought attention to the First Amendment rights of citizens and the validity of qualified immunity to law enforcement officers.1 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard arguments regarding the case of a controversial citizen journalist from Laredo Texas, Priscilla Villarreal, who was arrested in 2017.  Priscilla Villarreal is facing a felony

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