3 court cases shed light on this complex question
Do Police Officers Have a Legal Obligation to Use De-Escalation Tactics?
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Category: Legal/Case Law
Breach for Breach, Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth (Leviticus 24:20)
The question posed to the Supreme Court was whether the Excessive Fines Clause is “incorporated,” or in other words, applied to punishments imposed by state court as well as federal courts; the Court answered in the affirmative.
New Hampshire Court Finds No Unconstitutional Gender Bias in Public Nudity Laws
“The ordinance merely reflects the fact that men and women are not fungible with respect to the traditional understanding of what constitutes nudity.”
No Free Speech Right to Encourage Suicide
[vc_section css=".vc_custom_1540328728009{padding-top: 3em !important;padding-bottom: 3em !important;}" el_class="container"][vc_column width="2/3"]Commonwealth v. Carter, 115 N.E.3d 559 (Mass. 2019) Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy maintained a long-distance...
Qualified Immunity for Officers Who Recognized Excited Delirium as a Medical Emergency
[vc_section css=".vc_custom_1540328728009{padding-top: 3em !important;padding-bottom: 3em !important;}" el_class="container"][vc_column width="2/3"]Hanson v. Best, 2019 (8th Cir. 2019) Andrew Layton was sleeping in the foyer of a grocery store. An officer sent to...
Bush Bobbing Leads to Valid Investigative Detention
[vc_section css=".vc_custom_1540328728009{padding-top: 3em !important;padding-bottom: 3em !important;}" el_class="container"][vc_column width="2/3"]State v. Stevens, 2019 (Mont. 2019) An officer leaving the courthouse with an early morning prisoner transport noticed...
Woman in a Bathrobe Didn’t Have Authority to Consent to Search
[vc_section css=".vc_custom_1540328728009{padding-top: 3em !important;padding-bottom: 3em !important;}" el_class="container"][vc_column width="2/3"]United States v. Terry, 2019 (7th Cir 2019) Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration executed an arrest warrant...
No Felony for Juvenile Buttering Up (With a Dull Butter Knife) Her Sister
[vc_section css=".vc_custom_1540328728009{padding-top: 3em !important;padding-bottom: 3em !important;}" el_class="container"][vc_column width="2/3"]In re B.M., 2018 (Cal. 2018) A juvenile, B.M., returned home to find the locks changed on the front door. When no one...
Firefighters and Religious Expression: A Two-Edged Sword
It’s easy to inadvertently cross the line between religious freedom and endorsement of a religion
Our Weakest Members: Developmentally Disabled People in the Criminal Justice System
How can we protect these individuals from victimization and provide equal opportunity for rehabilitation?
Supreme Court Reverses 9th Circuit on Qualified Immunity (Again!)
Yet another 9th Circuit ruling involving qualified immunity is reversed by the Supreme Court
Despite Legal Marijuana Law, Odor in Car Still Creates Probable Cause to Search
Despite Colorado’s recreational marijuana law, an officer who detects the odor of marijuana during a traffic stop has probable cause to search the vehicle.