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This is an incredibly tense time in the Middle East - the Assad regime killing its own citizens in Syria, Hezbollah having amassed tens of thousands of rockets that could be launched at Israel on orders from its patron Iran, Tehran racing toward nuclear capability in defiance of the world, ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Actor and comedian Bill Cosby says the debate over the killing of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer should be focused on guns, not race.

In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" aired Sunday, Mr. Cosby said calling George Zimmerman a racist doesn't solve ...

An illegal search of video enabled the state to find other witnesses. While the search was bad, the witness was not barred under Ceccolini. State v. Bailey, 2012 ME 55, 2012 Me. LEXIS 55 (April 12, 2012):

[*P20] In Ceccolini the Supreme Court addressed the factors that dictate whether the exclusionary rule should apply to live-witness testimony. The factors are (1) the amount of free will exercised by the witness; (2) whether the initial illegality that led to the discovery of the witness was used to compel the witness to testify, or if the witness testifies as a product of "detached reflection and a desire to be cooperative"; (3) whether the testimony is related to the purpose of the original illegal search, keeping in mind that the exclusion would forever prevent the witness from testifying; (4) the amount of time that elapsed between the initial illegality and the initial contact with the witness, and between the initial contact with the witness and the testimony at trial; (5) whether the witness was known to the police officers prior to the illegal conduct; and (6) whether applying the exclusionary rule would have a future deterrent effect on police conduct. Ceccolini, 435 U.S. at 276-80.

[*P21] Although the Court in Ceccolini declined to adopt a per se rule that live-witness testimony should never be excluded, it acknowledged that witness testimony must be evaluated differently from physical evidence. Id. at 274-76 ("Witnesses are not like guns or documents which remain hidden from view until one turns over a sofa or opens a filing cabinet."). The Court instructed that the decision "cannot be decided on the basis of causation in the logical sense alone." Id. at 274. Instead, the Court indicated that a closer link between the illegality and the witness's testimony is required to exclude the testimony than with nontestimonial evidence because "the cost of excluding live-witness testimony often will be greater." Id. at 278.

[*P22] In a case factually similar to this one, the police received information about the sexual abuse of minors at a school. United States v. Wipf, 397 F.3d 677, 680 (8th Cir. 2005). The police obtained a search warrant and seized videotapes, among other evidence, from Wipf's home and used the videotapes to identify a previously unknown victim. Id. at 681. The victim's parents and a psychologist persuaded him to talk about the past abuse, partially by revealing the existence of the videotapes. Id. at 681, 684. The trial court granted Wipf's motion to suppress the evidence seized from his house, but allowed the victim to testify. Id. at 681-83. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the admission of the victim's testimony after applying the Ceccolini factors, specifically finding that the victim testified willingly; the illegally-seized videotapes were used indirectly to convince the victim to talk; the police never confronted the victim with the existence of the videotapes; the videotapes were never shown to the victim; about nine days elapsed between the illegal search and the first contact with the victim, and nine months elapsed before the victim testified at trial; and the purpose of the search was not to identify additional victims, but rather to corroborate the information originally received. Id. at 684-85.

[*P23] As the trial court found, application of the Ceccolini factors to this case weigh in favor of admitting the live-witness testimony. In its decision, the court found that the witnesses testified of their own free will, that there was a possibility that the witnesses could come forward in the future, and that the purpose of Detective Beaulieu's search was not to identify the then unknown victims. These findings support the court's decision to deny the motion to suppress the live-witness testimony. Additionally, the facts that the testimony was not directly related to the purpose of the original search, that the victims testified in court over two years after they were first identified, and that the victims would otherwise be forever prevented from testifying against Bailey also weigh in favor of admitting the testimony.

There aren't many cases dealing with the Ceccolini rule, so every one of them is important.

Defendant’s actions amounting to reasonable suspicion based on driving and actions after the stop. United States v. Ervin, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 7515 (5th Cir. April 12, 2012)*:

At the suppression hearing, Officer Vallet first set forth his experience in highway interdiction, including a year and a half working interdiction and 200 hours of training in interdiction. Officer Vallet then articulated several facts that led him to suspect that Ervin may have been involved in criminal activity before Officer Vallet decided to prolong the detention. From the outset, Officer Vallet found it suspicious that Ervin, while approaching the sheriff's vehicle, dropped speed, changed lanes, and took a close position behind another vehicle. Officer Vallet testified that in his training and experience, such activity was an attempt "to blend in with other traffic, not stand out." Officer Vallet then found it suspicious that twice when Ervin exited his vehicle, he "stopped just prior to the back of his vehicle, as if to stay close to the vehicle." Based on Officer Vallet's training and experience, people acting in such a manner indicate that "they have something that is of value or there's something connected to that car that they don't want to get too far from." During his interaction with Ervin, Officer Vallet noticed that Ervin "seemed overly nervous for a minor traffic violator" as evidenced by Ervin's avoidance of eye contact. Officer Vallet also did not find out of all suspicion the sequence in which Ervin expressed his travel plans. Ervin initially stated that the purpose of his trip was to visit a family member and later added that the purpose of the trip was to start a new business. The fact that Ervin was unable to produce a rental agreement raised Officer Vallet's suspicions because "[s]ometimes that is a way to distance yourself from the vehicle, or you don't want anybody to see who rented it or if it was rented in a false name." Further, Officer Vallet found it suspicious that Ervin failed to disclose fully the details of his criminal history.

There was reasonable suspicion to stop a car stopped in the middle of an intersection with its lights out when the officer came on the scene of a shots fired call. Defendant had no standing to challenge the search of the car because he could not show any connection to it why he was driving somebody else’s car. United States v. Mitchell, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51080 (W.D. Mo. March 1, 2012).*

UnMirandized defendant consented on the totality of circumstances. United States v. Lewis, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51752 (W.D. Va. April 13, 2012).*

Defendant’s PO was at his house for a “field visit” and saw a notebook on top of the TV. He opened the book, and saw directions about hooking up a computer to the TV, and saw names of files from the computer suggestive of child pornography. He was handcuffed and taken outside. He started the conversation and admitted to looking at “porn.,” and that was voluntary. United States v. Gardner, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51924 (D. Utah April 12, 2012).*

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A powerful wave swept four crew members off a sailboat during a race near San Francisco, leaving one person dead and four others missing, the Coast Guard said early Sunday.

The eight-member crew aboard the 38-foot Low Speed Chase was participating in a yacht race from ...

WOODWARD, Okla. (AP) — The television was on and tuned to forecasters' dire warnings of an impending storm when Greg Tomlyanobich heard a short burst from a tornado siren blare after midnight. Then silence. Then rumbling.

The 52-year-old quickly grabbed his wife and grandson, hurrying them into the emergency cellar ...

The government argued exigency justified the initial entry into the hotel room, and the later issued search warrant was valid. The court finds that it does not even need to decide exigency because the warrant was clearly valid. Also, several defendants had no standing in the hotel room. United States v. Johnson, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51482 (E.D. Mich. April 12, 2012):

The Government argues that exigent circumstances—specifically, concern that individuals inside the hotel room would destroy evidence of criminality—justified the fast and warrantless entry into the room. To launch an inquiry designed to definitively determine the constitutionality of such an entry is to invite a journey into discrete factual findings and a weighing and balancing of societal and law enforcement interests. In some cases that journey will be mandatory, or at least advisable. Here, it is neither. The court may avoid determining whether the initial entry into the hotel room was justified by exigent circumstances and simply assume that it was not, because suppression of the evidence discovered during the execution of the search warrant is not required where the warrant was valid and supported by probable cause.

Defendant had no standing to contest seizure of his girlfriend’s cell phone records. State v. Young, 2012 Ohio 1669, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1456 (6th Dist. April 13, 2012).*

The USMJ concluded that the computer search was excessive, but the Sixth Circuit spoke in a case on point right after that, so the R&R is adopted as modified. United States v. Labuda, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51084 (W.D. Tenn. April 11, 2012)*:

The Government objects to the Magistrate Judge's conclusion that Campbell's search exceeded the boundaries of the Search Warrant. (Gov.'s Objection 4.) The Government argues that United States v. Richards, 659 F.3d 527 (6th Cir. 2011), which was decided two weeks after the Magistrate Judge's Report, established clearer parameters for electronic database and file searches. (Gov.'s Objections 2.) The Government contends that "the Richards court determined that seizure of images of child pornography other than those specifically sought in the warrant was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment, even though the server was set up with neatly compartmentalized segments and files." (Id.)

A search warrant for a house does not have to include the name of the owners or occupants; a particular description is required with probable cause to believe evidence will be found, and the officers had it here. State v. Lenard, 2012 Ohio 1636, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1433 (8th Dist. April 12, 2012).

Defense counsel was not ineffective for not investigating whether the window tint of his car was legal or not when that was the basis for a stop in a bank robbery case. He didn’t even claim that his windows were overtinted. United States v. Coleman, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51481 (E.D. Pa. April 11, 2012)*:

Petitioner cannot show the existence of a colorable Fourth Amendment claim. Notably, Petitioner does not claim that his windows were not darkly tinted. He does not argue that Hartman should have been able to see inside the vehicle. Although he faults counsel for failing to investigate the level of tint, he does not claim that the windows were not in violation of Pennsylvania's Motor Vehicle Code. [¶] It is undisputed that the windows on Petitioner's vehicle were tinted. It is also undisputed that Trooper Hartman detained the vehicle because of the tinted windows. The suggestion that Counsel was ineffective because he did not investigate the extent of the tint is without merit. Sanders, 165 F.2d at 253. Petitioner's sixth claim lacks merit and is denied.

The search here was conducted by a school resource police officer, and the court finds it was not a police search but a school search. State v. Alaniz, 2012 ND 76, 2012 N.D. LEXIS 74 (April 10, 2012). The standard:

[*P10] Other courts have addressed this issue and have held there are three categories of school searches based on the amount of police involvement: (1) when school officials initiate the search or police involvement is minimal, the reasonableness standard applies; (2) when the search involves school resource officers acting on their own initiative or at the direction of other school officials to further educationally related goals, the reasonableness standard applies; and (3) when "outside" police officers initiate the search, warrant and probable cause requirements apply. See, e.g., T.S. v. State, 863 N.E.2d 362, 367-68 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007); Myers v. State, 839 N.E.2d 1154, 1160 (Ind. 2005); State v. Burdette, 225 P.3d 736, 740 (Kan. Ct. App. 2010); In re D.L.D., 694 S.E.2d 395, 400 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010); State v. J.M., 255 P.3d 828, 832 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

[*P11] In determining how much police involvement occurred and which standard applies, courts have considered various factors, including whether the officer was in uniform, whether the officer has an office on the school campus, how much time the officer is at the school each day, whether the officer is employed by the school system or an independent law enforcement agency, what the officer's duties are at the school, who initiated the investigation, who conducted the search, whether other school officials were involved, and the officer's purpose in conducting the search. See T.S., at 369-71; Burdette, at 740; R.D.S. v. State, 245 S.W.3d 356, 368 (Tenn. 2008). We agree with the rationale used by these courts to determine which standard should apply to school searches.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — More than a dozen possible tornadoes were reported Saturday as forecasters warned residents across the nation's midsection to brace for "life-threatening" weather.

Reported tornadoes targeted Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa during the day, but the most dangerous weather is expected Saturday night into Sunday morning. National ...

Alabama follows Diaz and others and rejects Smith in holding that a cell phone’s text messages are subject to a search incident. Gracie v. State, 2011 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 123 (December 16, 2011)* [Note: It’s always easier to let some other court do your thinking for you. Alabama has a subscription only website for state opinions that I won’t pay for since its opinions are so shallow.]

Defendant was stopped for driving too slow in the left lane and impeding traffic. The video showed trucks slowing and passing on the right. Shell v. State, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 391 (April 12, 2012).*

911 caller said that the police stopped the wrong man, so officers looked at the two men nearest. Finding a gun on one did not dissipate the reasonable suspicion as to the other because the officer did not have to consider the stop over. United States v. Woods, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51607 (W.D. Mo. April 6, 2012).*

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) — A dozen Secret Service agents sent to Colombia to provide security for President Barack Obama at an international summit have been relieved of duty because of allegations of misconduct.

The Associated Press received an anonymous tip that the misconduct involved prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia, the site ...

Despite safety and cost arguments from the insurance industry and the medical community, Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder announced Friday that he had signed into law a repeal of the state's mandatory motorcycle helmet law.

His nod for repeal comes as welcome news to bikers around the state, many of ...

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A late-night encounter with four bears trying to snack from backyard birdfeeders gave Vermont's governor a lesson in what not to do in bear country.

One of the bears chased Peter Shumlin and nearly caught the governor while he was trying to shoo the animals away, ...

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The mayor of New Jersey's largest city said Friday he feared for his life as he helped rescue a neighbor from a fire before firefighters had arrived.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, speaking on "CBS This Morning," described how he returned home Thursday night and saw his ...

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Trayvon Martin's supporters fought for weeks to win an arrest after the 17-year-old was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. Now George Zimmerman's attorney has begun what could be a lengthy legal battle to free his client from the second-degree murder charge filed ...