Denver CO May 23 2019 The Colorado Supreme Court greatly diminished the role of police dogs trained to detect marijuana with a ruling Monday that created another divide between how state and federal law enforcement can investigate pot. In a 4-3 ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that, under the state constitution, a dog trained […]
PORTLAND OR May 13 2019 — The Oregon Supreme Court disagreed with more than 50 years of state case law by ruling that Oregonians retain a privacy interest in the garbage they leave on the curb for pick-up. That means police can’t simply rummage through it even after a truck hauls it away. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports […]
Portland OR May 11 2019 A security guard was legally justified in fatally shooting a man outside a Southeast Portland strip club in January, according to a Multnomah County grand jury. The county district attorney’s office announced Thursday that grand jurors declined to indict Francisco Swafford in the killing of Eugene Pharr Jr., 42, outside Dream […]
Cincinnati OH April 24 2019 That parking officer who swipes a chalk mark on your tire to keep track of how long you’ve been parked is violating the Constitution, a federal appeals court panel found Monday. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati reinstated a 2017 case brought by Alison […]
Washington DC March 7 2019 They call it “policing for profit” and opponents of police powers to seize and sell anything that was used in connection with a criminal enterprise got the US Supreme Court to buy their argument. In a recent unanimous decision, the high court ruled that the constitution limits the ability of states […]
ATLANTA GA Feb 20 2019 — The Georgia Supreme Court ruled on Monday that part of a state law which says if a person refuses a roadside DUI breath test, that refusal can be used against them in court, is unconstitutional. In this particular case, an Athens-Clarke County Police officer stopped Andrea Elliott in August 2015 […]
TOPEKA, Kan. December 12 2018– A divided Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that police can rely exclusively on their sense of smell to provide probable cause to do preliminary search of a home for drugs. The ruling came in a case where Lawrence police entered a man’s apartment to search after saying they detected […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn October 18 2018 A federal judge in Nashville has ordered the state to stop suspending the drivers licenses of people who are unable to pay traffic fines and court costs. In an order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger also instructed the state to allow indigent drivers to get suspended licenses back without fees. […]
ROSELLE PARK NJ Sept 25 2018— Six years after a gunman killed 12 people and injured 70 more during a shooting at a Colorado movie theater, judges in New Jersey say cinema security guards have no need to carry firearms. A security guard at a local movie theater applied for a carry permit, which was approved […]
TRENTON, N.J. Aug 16 2018 — A divided New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday that police videos of an arrest that led to criminal charges against an officer can be shielded from disclosure under public records laws. The 4-3 ruling found that because there’s no law mandating the recordings be made, they aren’t subject to disclosure. […]