Politics

CA6: Police officer's arrest of defendant outside of jurisdiction irrelevant under Fourth Amendment

FourthAmendment.com - News - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35

Defendant fled at high speed across city boundaries from Cleveland to Lakewood City, and officers from the latter actually arrested him. Jurisdictional limits on police officers are irrelevant for Fourth Amendment purposes. United States v. King, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 5407, 2012 FED App. 0270N (6th Cir. March 12, 2012).

A drug dog was called at the conclusion of the traffic stop, and it took 50 minutes to arrive. Since there was reasonable suspicion, this did not unreasonably extend the stop. Federal cases have permitted such detentions for longer. United States v. Adams, 2012 CCA LEXIS 87 (N.-M. Ct. App. March 15, 2012).*

Pro se defendant didn’t file a motion to suppress, so he couldn’t challenge the search on appeal. State v. Henderson, 2012 Ohio 1040, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 930 (8th Dist. March 15, 2012).

NY4: Buccal swab for DNA requires a court order without consent

FourthAmendment.com - News - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35

Buccal swab for DNA requires a court order if defendant doesn’t consent. People v Smith, 2012 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1983, 2012 NY Slip Op 1896 (4th Dept. March 16, 2012):

An order compelling an individual to provide corporeal evidence, such as blood or saliva for DNA analysis, constitutes a search and seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment (see Skinner v Railway Labor Executives' Assn., 489 U.S. 602, 618; Schmerber v California, 384 U.S. 757, 767; Matter of Abe A., 56 NY2d 288, 295). Although no New York statute expressly authorizes courts to compel uncharged suspects to supply a DNA sample (see Abe A., 56 NY2d at 293-294; cf. CPL 240.40 [2]), the Court of Appeals has held that a court may issue an order to obtain a blood sample from a suspect so long as the People establish: "(1) probable cause to believe the suspect has committed the crime, (2) a clear indication' that relevant material evidence will be found, and (3) the method used to secure it is safe and reliable. In addition, the issuing court must weigh the seriousness of the crime, the importance of the evidence to the investigation and the unavailability of less intrusive means of obtaining it, on the one hand, against concern for the suspect's constitutional right to be free from bodily intrusion on the other. Only if this stringent standard is met ... may the intrusion be sustained" (Abe A., 56 NY2d at 291). Here, the court determined that the People satisfied the requirements of Abe A. set forth above, and defendant does not expressly challenge that determination. Rather, defendant contends that (1) he was denied due process because the second order compelling defendant to provide a buccal swab was not made upon notice to him; and (2) the method of collecting the swab, i.e., the use of the taser, was excessive and objectively unreasonable. We agree with defendant on both counts, and thus that reversal is required.

Obama raises $45 million in February

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama raised $45 million for his re-election campaign, the Democratic Party and other campaign funds in February, bringing his total to about $300 million for this election cycle....

GOP voters' passion uneven for Romney, Santorum

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney may lead in delegates and Rick Santorum might have momentum, but neither of the two leading Republican presidential candidates is having an easy time exciting even his own voters....

SD: GPS required warrant under Jones

FourthAmendment.com - News - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35

Placing a GPS on defendant’s car to track him for 26 days violated defendant’s reasonable expectation of privacy and required a search warrant under Jones and relying on its lower court decision in Maynard. State v. Zahn, 2012 SD 19, 2012 S.D. LEXIS 19 (March 14, 2012):

[*P22] In this case, the State argues that Zahn could not have had a subjective expectation of privacy in his movements because he voluntarily exposed his movements to the public. We disagree. While a reasonable person understands that his movements on a single journey are conveyed to the public, he expects that those individual movements will remain "disconnected and anonymous." Maynard, 615 F.3d at 563 (citation omitted). Indeed, the likelihood that another person would observe the whole of Zahn's movements for nearly a month "is not just remote, it is essentially nil." Id. at 560. The prolonged use of a GPS device in this case enabled officers to determine Zahn's speed, time, direction, and geographic location within five to ten feet at any time. It also enabled officers to use the sum of the recorded information to discover patterns in the whole of Zahn's movements for twenty-six days. The prolonged GPS surveillance of Zahn's vehicle revealed more than just the movements of the vehicle on public roads; it revealed an intimate picture of Zahn's life and habits. We thus believe that Zahn had a subjective expectation of privacy in the whole of his movements. This subjective expectation of privacy was not defeated because Zahn's individual movements were exposed to the public.

. . .

[*P31] We thus hold that the attachment and use of a GPS device to monitor an individual's activities over an extended period of time requires a search warrant. Because the unfettered use of surveillance technology could fundamentally alter the relationship between our government and its citizens, we require oversight by a neutral magistrate. Wright, 2010 S.D. 91, ¶ 9, 791 N.W.2d at 794 (quoting Thunder, 2010 S.D. 3, ¶ 13, 777 N.W.2d at 378). Thus, the warrantless attachment and use of the GPS device to monitor Zahn's activities for nearly a month was unlawful, and the evidence obtained through the use of the GPS device should be suppressed.

[*P32] By our holding today, we do not deny police the ability to use this valuable law enforcement tool. We recognize that police must be allowed to use developing technology in the "often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime." Sweedland, 2006 S.D. 77, ¶ 22, 721 N.W.2d at 415 (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 240, 103 S. Ct. 2317, 2333, 76 L. Ed. 2d 527 (1983)). The Fourth Amendment "cannot sensibly be read to mean that police [should] be no more efficient in the twenty-first century than they were in the eighteenth" century. United States v. Garcia, 474 F.3d 994, 998 (7th Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 552 U.S. 883 (2007). But police must obtain a warrant before they attach and use a GPS device to monitor an individual's activities over an extended period of time.

Santorum courts conservative Christians

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
CENTRAL, La. (AP) -- When a nationally influential evangelical leader gathered dozens of pastors at his home church to hear from a presidential candidate, he had a simple message: Rick Santorum is one of us, and your parishioners should vote for him....

Santorum courts conservative Christians

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
CENTRAL, La. (AP) -- When a nationally influential evangelical leader gathered dozens of pastors at his home church to hear from a presidential candidate, he had a simple message: Rick Santorum is one of us, and your parishioners should vote for him....

Santorum courts conservative Christians

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
CENTRAL, La. (AP) -- When a nationally influential evangelical leader gathered dozens of pastors at his home church to hear from a presidential candidate, he had a simple message: Rick Santorum is one of us, and your parishioners should vote for him....

Santorum courts conservative Christians

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
CENTRAL, La. (AP) -- When a nationally influential evangelical leader gathered dozens of pastors at his home church to hear from a presidential candidate, he had a simple message: Rick Santorum is one of us, and your parishioners should vote for him....

Twitter, Facebook don't sway public's news interest

Much of the often-agitated press appears obsessed with social media, tweeting and posting stories to attract measurable buzz, and possibly job security.

But the impact of Twitter and Facebook is not particularly significant in the competitive marketplace, according to Pew Research Center's annual "State of the Media Report" released Monday.

...

Romney sweeps all 20 delegates from Puerto Rico

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won all 20 delegates at stake in Puerto Rico's Republican presidential primary Sunday, adding to his lead in the race for delegates to the party's national convention....

Romney sweeps all 20 delegates from Puerto Rico

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won all 20 delegates at stake in Puerto Rico's Republican presidential primary Sunday, adding to his lead in the race for delegates to the party's national convention....

Romney sweeps all 20 delegates from Puerto Rico

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won all 20 delegates at stake in Puerto Rico's Republican presidential primary Sunday, adding to his lead in the race for delegates to the party's national convention....

Romney adds to delegate lead in Illinois primary

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney added to his lead in the race for delegates Tuesday by winning the Republican presidential primary in Illinois....

Santorum picks up delegates with win in Louisiana

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum picked up 10 convention delegates by winning Louisiana's Republican presidential primary Saturday....

Romney sweeps all 20 delegates from Puerto Rico

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won all 20 delegates at stake in Puerto Rico's Republican presidential primary Sunday, adding to his lead in the race for delegates to the party's national convention....

Republican Catholics cool so far to Rick Santorum

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- At El Sendero De La Cruz evangelical church, Rick Santorum sought prayers along with votes. He told the San Juan congregation that he felt "very blessed" to be with people of faith and said he can withstand the demands of campaigning because of the many people like them he meets while running for president....

Republican Catholics cool so far to Rick Santorum

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- At El Sendero De La Cruz evangelical church, Rick Santorum sought prayers along with votes. He told the San Juan congregation that he felt "very blessed" to be with people of faith and said he can withstand the demands of campaigning because of the many people like them he meets while running for president....

Republican Catholics cool so far to Rick Santorum

AP - Politics - Thu, 2025-05-22 07:35
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- At El Sendero De La Cruz evangelical church, Rick Santorum sought prayers along with votes. He told the San Juan congregation that he felt "very blessed" to be with people of faith and said he can withstand the demands of campaigning because of the many people like them he meets while running for president....
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