The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently issued an opinion in Davis v. City of Elgin, Illinois, addressing whether officers were entitled to qualified immunity for using less-lethal force during a...
Continue ReadingDistrict of Columbia v. R.W., 608 U.S. ___ (2026) TOPIC: Fourth Amendment / Investigatory Stop / Reasonable Suspicion. In District of Columbia v. R.W., 608 U.S. ___ (2026), the Supreme Court of the United States...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently examined United States v. Felton, 159 F.4th 1128 (7th Cir. 2025), addressing whether an affidavit established probable cause for a GPS tracking warrant when...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently examined United States v. Fellmy, a case that highlights how a canine’s brief, instinctive behavior during a lawful exterior sniff is not a Fourth Amendment...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently released an opinion in United States v. Erving, a case that highlights the circumstances under which a protective vehicle search is permissible under the...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently issued an opinion in Lewis v. Delgado, 163 F.4th 926 (5th Cir. 2026), a case that considers when officers are entitled to qualified immunity...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently decided Byers v. Painter, 173 F.4th 155 (4th Cir. 2026), a case examining the limits of qualified immunity when an officer uses deadly force...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently issued an opinion in Montgomery v. Cruz, a case that highlights the limits on searches conducted during an investigative detention. This case arose after...
Continue ReadingIn United States v. Thorne, No. 23-3054 (D.C. Cir. 2026), the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit highlighted Fourth Amendment considerations that arise when officers use GPS-ping data and cell-site simulator technology to...
Continue ReadingIn a recent case from the Fourth Circuit, the Court examined United States v. Lowers, a case that highlights privacy in the digital age and reiterates that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in files...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently addressed the limits of advanced pain-compliance techniques in Franke v. Janes, 168 F.4th 797 (6th Cir. 2026). This case arose from an officer’s use of a half-nelson and wrist torque technique while escorting a handcuffed man...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently issued a decision in United States v. Rowell, holding that a missing minor’s recent digital footprint, combined with evidence that the child may be endangered, may...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued an opinion in United States v. Hawkins, a case that clarifies the limits on an officer’s ability to prolong a traffic stop based...
Continue ReadingThe Fifth Circuit held that officers had reasonable suspicion to conduct a protective pat-down of a vehicle passenger after discovering that the driver possessed a concealed firearm and had been dishonest about it. The court...
Continue ReadingOn June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court explained how the Fourth Amendment applies to the use of a geofence warrant. In doing so, the Court was tasked with considering two questions: whether the police conducted...
Continue ReadingThe Tenth Circuit recently released their decision for United States v. Nahkai, which examines when someone is in custody for Miranda. The Tenth Circuit held that Andy Nahkai was not in custody for purposes of...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently released an opinion in United States v. Porter, a case that considers whether the government’s use of historical location information from a networked license plate reader system, constitutes a search...
Continue ReadingThe Eleventh Circuit’s decision in United States v. Thomas highlights the critical distinction between a consensual police encounter and a Fourth Amendment seizure. The case arose from an officer’s response to a minor complaint in a fast-food parking...
Continue ReadingThe Tenth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Watkins examines the limits of Fourth Amendment protections in the context of motel rooms and publicly accessible walkways. The case focuses on whether an officer’s observation through...
Continue ReadingThe Seventh Circuit recently released a decision in United States v. Coleman. This case serves as a crucial exploration of Fourth Amendment boundaries, specifically the scope of consent and who can give it. Summary of...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently released a ruling in Hawatmeh v. City of Henderson. This case stems from a volatile hostage situation that occurred in December 2020 after Jason...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently released an opinion in Pena v. City of Los Angeles. This case reached the court after an exercise of police power led to private property...
Continue ReadingTechnology is moving faster than the law, and geofence warrants are one of the clearest examples of that tension. In Chatrie v. United States, law enforcement used a geofence warrant to obtain Google location data...
Continue ReadingThe United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently released a ruling for Fuqua v. Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. This case stems from an incident in July 2021 when Deputy Leonardo Guzman pulled...
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