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The First Amendment & Law Enforcement: Probable Cause Generally Defeats Retaliatory Arrest Claims

Our legal update today discusses an important case in understanding how the First Amendment affects law enforcement in modern times – Nieves v. Bartlett. The decision in Nieves v. Bartlett comes to us from the Supreme Court, and it is crucial in understanding how the court system weighs probable cause and the reasonableness of an officer’s actions versus a retaliatory arrest claim. Retaliatory arrests refer to arrests by […]

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SCOTUS Makes It Easier To Sue Police And Prosecutors For Malicious Prosecution

On April 4th, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), in the matter of Thompson v. Clark[1], held that for purposes of a Fourth Amendment claim under § 1983 for malicious prosecution, a plaintiff is not required to show that the criminal prosecution ended with an affirmative indication of innocence. Rather, the plaintiff need only show that the prosecution ended without a conviction. A more detailed

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Duty, Honor, and Community: Westmoreland and Taking Back the Narrative

When we in law enforcement take the oath to protect and serve our community, we do not expect that the biggest aggressor in that fight might be the community itself. We’ve gone through a lot as a country in the past few years and one of the hot topics on everyone’s mind has been reforming law enforcement and defunding the police. This has caused

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The Benefits of the Public Safety Accreditation Process

The Process Benefits the Agency and the Community. Public Safety accreditation is defined as the voluntary compliance with contemporary, internationally recognized standards for operation and administration. These professionally recognized and established standards are referred to as the “best practices” in public safety. Adherence to these standards not only benefit the agency and the manner in which they deliver services; adherence to these standards are

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First Amendment “Audits” and the Civilian Right to Film Law Enforcement (Part 2)

In more recent times, groups of individuals, claiming to be “First Amendment Auditors,” have been challenging police and gaining media exposure by filming the inside of various public spaces. As a result of this new phenomenon, many agencies are evaluating how to respond to these so-called “auditors.” Many of these encounters do not escalate, however, there are some encounters that have become challenging for law enforcement.

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First Amendment “Audits” and the Civilian Right to Film Law Enforcement (Part 1)

What is it, What are the Implications and are there Restrictions? In more recent times, groups of individuals, claiming to be “First Amendment Auditors,” have been challenging police and gaining media exposure by filming the inside of various public spaces. As a result of this new phenomenon, many agencies are evaluating how to respond to these so-called “auditors.” Many of these encounters do not escalate, however,

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You Shall Not Pass: Knock & Talks, Curtilage and the Fourth Amendment

Coming to us from the First Circuit, the facts of this case surround harassment, a knock and talk, and of course, the Fourth Amendment.   The major case used in the court’s argument today is Florida v. Jardines. Decided in 2013, the Supreme Court recognized that the yard of a home is protected under the Fourth Amendment to the same degree as the interior of the

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It’s All in the Hips: A Suspect’s Suspicious Movements Lead to A Reasonable Frisk

Before we get into our case, let’s review the Supreme Court’s two objective tests for identifying a Fourth Amendment search. These two tests include whether police: (1) “physically intrud[es] on a constitutionally protected area” (under United States v. Jones); or (2) violate a person’s “reasonable expectation of privacy” (under Katz v. United States). These are different from a seizure, which is legally defined as

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Let’s Not Jump to Impoundment: Officers’ Actions Show Pretext and Wrongful Impoundment of Vehicle 

Today our case handles a situation involving a protective order and an impoundment. Because our case took place in the Tenth Circuit, there are some pretextual guidelines to consider when it comes to vehicle impoundment:   Whether the car is on private or public property;  Whether the property owner has been consulted;  Whether an alternative to impoundment exists, especially the availability of someone else to drive

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