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WASHINGTON (AP) — Stung by high gasoline costs, outlying suburbs that sprouted in the heady 2000s are now seeing their growth fizzle to historic lows, halting American city dwellers' decades-long exodus to sprawling homes in distant towns.

New census estimates as of July 2011 highlight a shift in population trends ...

Randolph requires the objecting defendant be actually present. Objecting elsewhere not enough. The court thus joins CA7 and CA8. United States v. Shrader, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 6734 (4th Cir. April 4, 2012)

Shrader urges us, however, to expand the holding of Randolph and conclude that his earlier refusal vitiates his aunt's later consent, even though he was absent from the premises. Physical presence may not be dismissed as a mere function of the facts of Randolph, however. That presence reflected the "widely shared social expectations" that informed the Court's ruling. Randolph, 547 U.S. at 111. The Court noted that "a caller standing at the door of shared premises would have no confidence that one occupant's invitation was a sufficiently good reason to enter when a fellow tenant stood there saying, 'stay out.'" Id. at 113; see also id. at 114 ("[T]he co-tenant wishing to open the door to a third party has no recognized authority in law or social practice to prevail over a present and objecting co-tenant.") The Court plainly gave careful thought to the scope of the physical presence requirement that it articulated:

[W]e are drawing a fine line; if a potential defendant with self-interest in objecting is in fact at the door and objects, the co-tenant's permission does not suffice for a reasonable search, whereas the potential objector, nearby but not invited to take part in the threshold colloquy, loses out. This is the line we draw, and we think the formalism is justified. Id. at 121.

This case falls squarely on the permissible side of the line. Because Shrader was absent from the premises, and there was no evidence that he was arrested for the purpose of nullifying his refusal to consent to the search, his aunt's consent provided adequate permission for the police to search the house, notwithstanding his earlier objection.

In so holding, we join the Seventh and Eighth Circuits in adhering to the clearly drawn rule of Randolph and giving effect to the Supreme Court's explicit requirement that the defendant be physically present to dispute his cotenant's consent. See United States v. Henderson, 536 F.3d 776 (7th Cir. 2008); United States v. Hudspeth, 518 F.3d 954 (8th Cir. 2008) (en banc). We decline to adopt the more expansive view of the Ninth Circuit which permits a defendant's refusal to operate indefinitely, "barring some objective manifestation that he has changed his position and no longer objects." United States v. Murphy, 516 F.3d 1117, 1125 (9th Cir. 2008). This latter approach raises practical problems. How broadly is constructive knowledge of a suspect's prior refusal to consent to be imputed to other officers? Must a suspect expressly indicate that he has changed his mind in the future, or may that be assessed from the totality of the circumstances? Is there some point at which the passage of time renders a prior objection inoperative? The Murphy interpretation of Randolph would involve courts in such questions, diverting attention from the basic social expectations that underlie not only the opinion in Randolph, but the larger corpus of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. Careful observance of the requirement that an objecting cotenant be physically present thus not only shows fealty to the Supreme Court's precedent, but also focuses police and courts on the customary norms that form the basis for this area of law.

Defendant’s driving 52 in a 65 zone in the left lane on I-10 was not reasonable suspicion to stop him where there was no showing that he impeded traffic. Delafuente v. State, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 2602 (Tex. App. – Houston (14th Dist.) April 3, 2012).*

Defendant was detained in the police car for five minutes while a DL check was run, and this did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Defendant’s unMirandized admissions of consumption of beer made then were admissible. While a pat-down search was conducted prior to defendant's statements, this search did not convert this routine traffic stop into a custodial situation as the search was nominally consensual, it was concluded in a few seconds, and nothing was found during the search. State v. Serafin, 2012 Ohio 1456, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1295 (11th Dist. March 30, 2012).*

A license plate in the back window and not where it belongs is reason for a stop in Ohio. State v. Fredo, 2012 Ohio 1496, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1314 (7th Dist. March 30, 2012).*

The remedy for an alleged Fourth Amendment violation for an unlawful stop is a motion to suppress, not a motion to dismiss. Reasonable suspicion is required for the stop, not probable cause, and the trial court erred. State v. Kilbarger, 2012 Ohio 1521, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1327 (4th Dist. March 19, 2012).*

How many times have you heard Barack Obama talk about "investing" in education? Quite a few, if you've been listening to the president at all.

Santorum is on the verge of doing something that would be a major blow to both his 2012 presidential run and any possible future run: Losing his home state. While it's not unheard of (think Ron Paul losing Texas in 2008), it is very rare for a serious contender to do so. In 2008, Romney dropped out and endorsed McCain, despite being just one state back at the time (McCain had 12 victories, Romney had 11).

Leading conservatives have been making the argument it is now time to support Romney, but Santroum remains defiant. Romney currently leads the field with about 658 delegates, dwarfing Santorum's haul of 285, Newt's take of 135, and Paul's showing of 51.

A new Public Policy Polling poll has Santorum losing to Romney 42-37%. The PA primary is April 24th, along with a number of other contests where Romney has double-digit leads including New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Sometimes it's wiser to quit when you are still somewhat competitive and you still have support, as that support can carry over to a future run. As a candidate, you start losing goodwill at some point, and Santorum may have long ago crossed that bridge.

Photo: Courtesy Gage Skidmore

Will Santorum Lose His Home State? originally appeared on About.com Conservative Politics: U.S. on Thursday, April 5th, 2012 at 07:59:54.

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The popularity of "The Hunger Games" demonstrates that today's young readers want to be challenged.

The president crossed a dangerous line this week. And anyone who cares about liberty needs to call him out on it.

OAKLAND, Calif. — An administrator at a small Christian university where seven people were killed this week said Wednesday she was the gunman's primary target after she rejected his repeated requests for a refund of his tuition.

Ellen Cervellon, director of the nursing program at Oikos University, wasn't on ...

DETROIT — Pastor Terry Jones, the Florida-based minister who sparked deadly riots in Afghanistan last year after he burned a copy of the Koran, is suing a Michigan city he says is interfering with his right to protest this weekend against Islamic Shariah law.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in ...

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — Police at a California college pepper-sprayed as many as 30 demonstrators as students angry over a plan to offer high-priced courses tried to push their way into a trustees meeting, authorities said, as state officials said they were reconsidering the policy.

"Let us in, let ...

LOUISIANA

NEW ORLEANS — Five former New Orleans police officers were sentenced Wednesday to prison terms ranging from six to 65 years for their roles in deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina.

Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Anthony Villavaso and Robert Faulcon were convicted of ...

A three-judge federal appellate court heard arguments Wednesday on whether a 1996 federal law that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman - thus denies marital benefits to gay couples married under state law - is constitutional.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) amounts to "across-the-board ...

TAMPA, Fla. — Felipe Santos, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, and Terrance Williams, a black man, had little in common until about eight years ago. That was when they disappeared three months apart in the Naples area, both of them right after crossing paths with sheriff's Deputy Steven Calkins.

Investigations ...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Five former New Orleans police officers were sentenced Wednesday to prison terms ranging from six to 65 years for their roles in deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina.

Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Anthony Villavaso and Robert Faulcon were convicted of firearms ...

BOSTON (AP) — Lawyers for a gay and lesbian legal advocacy group told a federal appeals court panel Wednesday that a federal law denying benefits to married gay couples that heterosexual couples get is discriminatory.

A lawyer for a bipartisan congressional group argued Wednesday in Boston that Congress had a ...

SFGate.org: Why cell-phone tracking should require a warrant by James Temple:

The American Civil Liberties Union released a troubling report this past weekend demonstrating that law enforcement agencies around the nation routinely track personal cell phones, often without warrants. Conspicuously absent from the survey was information about the tactics of Northern California police departments.

That's because, among the roughly 20 local agencies that received open records requests, only a handful provided substantive responses, said Linda Lye, staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California. The rest declined to shed light on their practices, she said.

DENVER (AP) — Sam Lucas was among the first to begin calling 911 about a wildfire burning near his home on the outskirts of Denver.

But the dispatcher, already having answered a handful of calls about the fire, cut Lucas off to tell him that it was a controlled burn ...

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Police at a California college pepper-sprayed as many as 30 demonstrators after students angry over a plan to offer high-priced courses tried to push their way into a trustees meeting, authorities said.

"Let us in, let us in," protesters shouted on video posted online Tuesday. "No ...

Where a search under a warrant for a body under cement in a basement couldn’t possibly be completed in a day, it was not unreasonable for officers to return the next day. People v. Nevarez, 2012 Ill. App. LEXIS 251, 2012 IL App (1st) 93414 (March 30, 2012):

[**P48] This record indicates that the search team proceeded with diligence on the first day of the search, uncovered evidence the cadaver dog's "hit") that the body was indeed somewhere in the apartment, but was unable to complete the search that day because the long process of excavation had physically drained the searchers. They left for the night, but demonstrated their intent to continue the search the next day by boarding up the site and posting overnight police guards at both entrances. As the search could not have been completed in a single day, the resumption of the search the next day was not a separate search requiring a second warrant, but was simply a reasonable continuation of the original search for which no new search warrant was required. See United States v. Squillacote, 221 F.3d 542, 557 (4th Cir. 2000) (where search could not have been completed in a single day, "the subsequent entries were not separate searches requiring separate warrants, but instead were simply reasonable continuations of the original search").

“Reasonable suspicion of criminal activity can found [sic] on the combination of a driver's extreme nervousness and contradictory statements. United States v. Morgan, 270 F.3d 625, 631 (8th Cir. 2001).” United States v. Felix, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46377 (N.D. Iowa April 3, 2012).*

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The tornado hurtled toward the nursing home. Physical therapist Patti Gilroy said she saw through the back door the swirling mass barreling down after she had herded patients into the hallway in the order prescribed: walkers, wheelchairs, then beds.

"It wasn't like a freight train, like ...