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Arrest of capital murder suspect on an outstanding traffic warrant was valid, and pretext was not a valid argument. Johnson v. State, 2012 OK CR 5, 2012 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 4 (March 2, 2012):

[*P12] Appellant first asserts that his arrest on outstanding warrants was illegal because it was solely a pretext to hold him for questioning about the homicides. However, if police have a valid right to arrest an individual for one crime, it does not matter if their subjective intent is in reality to collect information concerning another crime. Bland v. State, 2000 OK CR 11, ¶ 48, 4 P.3d 702, 718. "Whether a Fourth Amendment violation has occurred, 'turns on an objective assessment of the officer's actions in light of the facts and circumstances confronting him at the time, ... and not on the officer's actual state of mind at the time the challenged action was taken.'" Maryland v. Macon, 472 U.S. 463, 470-71, 105 S.Ct. 2778, 2783, 86 L.Ed.2d 370 (1985) quoting Scott v. United States, 436 U.S. 128, 136-39 n. 13, 98 S.Ct. 1717, 1722, 1724 n. 13, 56 L.Ed.2d 168 (1978). See also Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 812-13, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 1774, 135 L.Ed.2d 89, 98 (1996) (Supreme Court reiterated its position that it was unwilling to entertain Fourth Amendment challenges based upon the actual motivations of individual officers); Phillips v. State, 1999 OK CR 38, ¶ 41, 989 P.2d 1017, 1031. If the police action could have been taken against an individual "even absent the 'underlying intent or motivation,' there is no conduct which ought to have been deterred and thus no reason to bring the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule into play for purposes of deterrence." See 1 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 1.4(e) (4th ed. 2004). In other words, if the alleged pretextual arrest could have taken place absent police suspicion of Appellant's involvement in another crime, then the arrest is lawful. In the present case, Appellant was arrested on outstanding warrants which were issued before the murders occurred. The officers legally executed the valid arrest warrants and their subjective intent does not make this otherwise lawful conduct illegal or unconstitutional.

I wouldn't have raised this argument, but it's a capital case and defense counsel has to pursue issues that seem weak anyway. At least in my state we can raise it in trial court and not bother to argue it on appeal, but, by rule and statute, the issue is deemed decided on the merits for post-conviction purposes without cluttering the appeal with seems to be a frivolous issue.

Defendant was free to go when she consented to a search of her purse, despite her language difficulties and she was outnumbered by the police. The “asked” “rather than commaned[ed].” United States v. Nieto-Rojas, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 4500 (9th Cir. March 5, 2012) (unpublished)*:

The district court held that Appellant was not in custody when her purse was searched, reasoning that the officers were deferential and protective rather than commanding, that they asked rather than demanded to search her purse, that they did not physically control her at any time or display their weapons, and that they told her multiple times that she was free to go when her ride arrived. Appellant argues she was in custody because there were three officers on the scene, she was cited for traffic violations, English was not her native language, she watched the officers conduct an inventory search of the car, her passenger was searched in front of her, and she was told that she could leave when her ride came but she was not told she could leave before. We agree with the district court that Appellant was not in custody. Appellant was told several times she would be free to leave when her ride came. She did not ask to leave before her ride came. It was not unreasonable for the officer to stay with Appellant and her passengers while she waited for a ride, given the dangers of the busy highway.

If the district court had found consent involuntary, likely that would have been affirmed on appeal, given the standard of review.

In what is a footnote to the GPS case, Jones’s claim previously barred by Heck can conceivably be resurrected by F.R.C.P. 60(b)(5), not by mandamus, but qualified immunity may be a problem [it will]. In re Jones, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 4575 (D.C. Cir. March 6, 2012)*:

Two years after the district court dismissed Jones’ civil case¸ this Court reversed Jones’ conviction. See United States v. Maynard, 615 F.3d 544 (D.C. Cir. 2010). The Supreme Court recently affirmed that ruling. See United States v. Jones, 132 S. Ct. 945 (2012). Because Jones can now show that the dismissal of his civil suit was “based on an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated,” he might consider filing a motion in district court under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(5). See Robinson v. Connell, No. 9:05-CV-1428 (GLS/ATB), 2010 WL 6268444, at *2 (N.D.N.Y. Sept. 8, 2010) (magistrate report and recommendation) (Second Circuit remanded civil claim, which had been dismissed under Heck, to district court to consider motion under Rue 60(b)(5) after criminal sentence was allegedly vacated), on remand from No. 08-1992-pr (2d Cir. Aug. 25, 2009). In the alternative, Jones might consider re-filing his complaint. Although Jones expresses concern that re-filing might raise “statute of limitations issues,” Pet. Br. 13–14 n.3, the Supreme Court has implied that, even if Jones’ claims had accrued before the district court dismissed them under Heck, the statutes of limitations should be tolled as long as the bar of Heck prevented Jones’ suit from going forward. See Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 395 n.4 (2007) (“Had petitioner filed suit upon his arrest and had his suit then been dismissed under Heck, the statute of limitations, absent tolling, would have run by the time he obtained reversal of his conviction. If under those circumstances he were not allowed to refile his suit, Heck would produce immunity from § 1983 liability, a result surely not intended.”).

Plaintiff’s claims for the wrongful towing of his car after his arrest were shown to be Heck barred. Dismissals for Heck bars are without prejudice. Rowell v. Ewing Bros. Towing Co., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 4625 (9th Cir. March 6, 2012) (unpublished).*

Defendant’s stop was justified for reasonable suspicion, and that is all the standard is; not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Turrentine, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28511 (W.D. Okla. March 5, 2012)*:

While the defendant's evidence might well be sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt as to whether defendant committed the traffic violation, that is not the standard here. For present purposes, the question is whether the government has established by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation occurred, hence justifying the trooper's action. The court concludes it has. Trooper Painter testified that he observed the violation and the court found his testimony to be generally credible. Defendant's suggestion that the trooper's smile shown on the video is inconsistent with observing a traffic violation is speculative and ultimately unpersuasive.

Changing information from the CI served to enhance his credibility. The CI was believable and supported the stop, as did only the information that the police knew. United States v. Pete, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 4501 (3d Cir. March 5, 2012) (unpublished).*

The progressive left in this country has viciously and systematically slimed female conservatives for decades...

Mitt Romney won more than twice as many delegates on Super Tuesday as Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum.

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John McCain's Attack On Liberty 8-24-10

Ten more states voted on Tuesday night, bringing the running total to 22 so far. Coming in to the Super Tuesday contests, Romney led with eight victories, followed by Rick Santorum with three, and Newt Gingrich with one. Here is a quick recap of the Super Tuesday results and how each candidate fared: Mitt Romney As expected, Romney won Massachusetts (72%), Virginia (59%), Vermont (40%), and Idaho (75%+ est.) with ease. Most importantly, Romney picked up the biggest prize of the night, Ohio (38%), where he had trailed Santorum in polls for the entire month of February. Ohio was the marquee match-up of the night as the rest of the states played out mostly as anticipated. He also tacked on a win in Alaska (32%) for good measure. He finished the night with victories in states won, delegates earned, and in the popular vote. Rick Santorum Also following the script, Rick Santorum won contests in Tennessee (37%) and Oklahoma (34%), but perhaps by smaller margins than originally anticipated. But he also added a caucus win in North Dakota (40%), which will give him 3 victories and enough momentum to carry on longer. He really hoped for a win in Ohio to prove he could win a tough state that Romney was competing heavily in. Santorum's 6 victories have all been in mostly-ignored contests. Newt Gingrich

Newt won only his home state of Georgia (48%). But he managed to give a speech that sounded like he just won the presidency. He vows to fight on, but so far has carried just 2 states in 22 contests.

Quick Analysis

Romney now has won 14 of 22 contests (64%) and his position as clear frontrunner is now solidified. He remains over the 50% threshold in delegates, which is a requirement to win the nomination. Romney's main advantage is that he competes in every state, while his opponents focus mostly on regional contests where they have an upper-hand, and ignore everything else. This hands a great deal of easy victories to Romney, while also allowing him to target important states for victory, like Ohio and Michigan.

Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Super Tuesday Results: Romney Wins Ohio, 5 Other States originally appeared on About.com Conservative Politics: U.S. on Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 at 00:48:28.

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