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Daily Mail | A new finding proposes that time is slowing down so much that it will eventually cease indefinitely.

Matching the description of a bank robber just given by the tellers, wrapped and loose cash sticking out of pockets, and GPS transmitter located in the money locating him was reasonable suspicion. United States v. Johnson, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83417 (D. Minn. May 23, 2012).* [Come on. If that's not, what is? In fact, this looks like probable cause to me.]

Defense counsel was not ineffective for conceding defendant had no standing in the house of another that he was briefly at before the search. There was nothing that supported his standing as a guest. State v. Brown, 2012 Ohio 2672, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 2355 (5th Dist. June 13, 2012).*

The warrant in a child pornography case sought “Written documents in communications with [E14] or describing the relationship with [E14], Computers and any other electronic devices used in the transmission of communication and solicitation of [E14], any electronic storage devices that may be used to store communications, ....” Seizure of a computer, camera, CDs, DVDs, and storage media were permitted, but male enhancement lotion was not. United States v. Young, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83198 (D. Neb. June 15, 2012).*

Fingerprint evidence as a result of an illegal seizure in an illegal re-entry case would not be suppressed. United States v. Lopez, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83426 (W.D. Tex. June 15, 2012):

No such bright line exists in published case law explicitly preventing the suppression of fingerprint evidence gathered as part of an illegal seizure and arrest in the illegal re-entry context. However, in Roque-Villanueva, the Fifth Circuit held that, "[e]ven if the [d]efendant was illegally stopped, neither his identity nor his INS file [is] suppressible." 175 F.3d 345, 346 (5th Cir. 1999) (emphasis added); Scroggins, 599 F.3d at 450 (quoting the holding in Roque-Villanueva). In a number of unpublished Fifth Circuit opinions, panels have acknowledged that "identity" includes fingerprint evidence by, for example, concluding that "even if there was a Fourth Amendment violation, this [circuit] has held that evidence of identity, such as one's fingerprints and A-file, is not suppressible." United States v. Cervantes-Malagon, 2012 WL 13769, at *1 (5th Cir. Jan. 4, 2012) ...

The Court is persuaded by the reasoning in the foregoing authorities that, in the context of an illegal re-entry prosecution, even fingerprint evidence gathered following a Fourth Amendment violation is not subject to suppression when that evidence is used merely to establish a defendant's identity. ...

The American Dream | Barack Obama seems completely obsessed with systematically legalizing illegal immigration.

London Guardian | Search engine company has said there has been a troubling increase in requests to remove political content from the internet.

Mike Adams | Monsanto is gearing up its propaganda campaign that aims to convince people you don't need to know what you're eating!

Ethan A. Huff | One of the more sneaky lies now getting repeated is the one which implies that added fluoride chemicals are no different than the naturally occurring fluoride elements already present in many water supplies.

The Economic Collapse | The election results from Greece are in and the pro-bailout forces have won, but just barely.

Saman Mohammadi | Put the "Arab Spring" in Syria on hold. If NATO has its way, winter is coming to Damascus, and the snow won't be falling on Assad alone.

DENVER — Authorities ordered more evacuations as fire crews struggled against powerful winds fueling a wildfire that has charred more than 87 square miles of forested mountains in northern Colorado.

The firefighting force has steadily increased and by Sunday night officials said about 1,750 personnel were working on the fire, ...

Police were investigating a serial rapist who struck on rainy nights. An officer saw a Jeep parked in a likely neighborhood because of a report of a man in a ski mask, and he felt the hood which was warm. He noted the license number finding it didn't stay in the neighborhood, looked through the windows, and drove off. An hour later he saw the vehicle moving and stopped it, asking the driver about what he was doing in the neighborhood, and he noted the answer. He asked for consent which was denied, and he let the driver go. The next day, after a rape was reported, officers followed up on the story obtained from the stop and found it false. The stop was with reasonable suspicion. State v. Burdick, 2012 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 396 (June 13, 2012):

We conclude that, under the totality of the circumstances, Officer Hamm had reasonable suspicion to stop the Defendant's Jeep. At the time of the stop, "The Wooded Rapist" was at large in the community. "The Wooded Rapist" had committed his rapes on rainy evenings in the Brentwood area. On the night of April 27, 2008, which was rainy, Officer Hamm responded to a call about a man wearing a ski mask and dark clothing in the area of Meadow Lake and Arnold Road. While patrolling that area, looking for something out of place, he noticed a gray Jeep parked on the side of the road. Upon approaching the vehicle, he found the hood of the vehicle warm. He ran the vehicle's tags and determined that it was registered to the Defendant, whose listed address was not in the subdivision. The officer left and returned an hour later, passing the Defendant driving the Jeep away from the Meadow Lake area. Officer Hamm initiated an investigatory traffic stop to identify the driver of the Jeep and determine if he was related to the call about the man in the ski mask. We conclude Officer Hamm had an articulable and reasonable suspicion that the vehicle, or its occupant, were subject to seizure for violation of the law.

We further conclude that Officer Hamm's stop of the Defendant did not exceed the proper parameters. The stop lasted between three and five minutes. The officer asked the Defendant if he had seen anything suspicious, and the Defendant responded negatively. The officer filled out a field interview card, and the Defendant offered the officer his phone number. The officer asked the Defendant why he was in the neighborhood, and the Defendant responded that he was there to visit a friend.

Does this case suggest a sliding scale of reasonable suspicion where the more serious the crime the lesser reasonable suspicion is required? If so, should that be permissible? Catching a serial rapist is certainly among the weightiest of government and public interests, as was preventing the armed robbery in Terry. Remember, that case also involved a frisk, not just a stop. Can it be said that comparing this case to a drug case where reasonable suspicion is the excuse for a stop, maybe this wouldn’t be reasonable suspicion for a stop? Well, you can’t compare this case to a drug case: Serial rapist on the loose striking on rainy nights; man with a ski mask seen in the neighborhood; a vehicle not belonging in the neighborhood is seen parked there, and it hadn’t been there long; stopping it to ask if the driver had seen anything suspicious, like the man in the ski mask, and asking for identification was not unreasonable. If defendant had been taken in on that, the discussion would be different. But, at the time of the stop, no rape had yet been reported, and he was let go in 3-5 minutes, getting only a name and why he was there. This was just good police work that fully respected the detainee's rights. It wasn't a stop on a pure hunch--it was because this car didn't come back as belonging in the neighborhood, and there was a report of a prowler.

Defendants and their vehicle matched the description of people alleged to have stolen from open houses. They were found within 30 minutes of the initial dispatch in the same city in a distinctive vehicle. The stop was with reasonable suspicion, and they admitted then to having been at the open house in question. People v. Rangel, 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 694 (1st Dist. June 14, 2012);* People v. Little, 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 705 (4th Dist. June 15, 2012).*

Claimant’s money was seized after a valid consent, and his testimony was found incredible on the consent issue. He was flagged by an Amtrak drug courier profile: one-way ticket bought just before departure for a sleeper car on somebody else’s credit card. United States v. Funds in the Amount of $239,400, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82682 (N.D. Ill. June 5, 2012).*

In a forfeiture case, the government is not required to show probable cause or meet its ultimate trial burden. Therefore, claimant’s 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss is denied, and he must answer. United States v. $33,984.00 in United States Currency, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83119 (D. Neb. June 14, 2012).*

Following state precedent, the search incident of a cell phone without any reason to believe it contains evidence of a crime is sustained. The issue is certified to the Florida Supreme Court. State v. Glasco, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 9717 (Fla. 5th DCA June 15, 2012):

Pursuant to Fawdry [v. State, 70 So. 3d 626 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)] and Smallwood [v. State, 61 So. 3d 448 (Fla. 1st DCA), review granted, 68 So. 3d 235 (Fla. 2011)], we reverse the order granting the motion to suppress and remand this case to the trial court for further proceedings. We certify to the Florida Supreme Court a question of great public importance similar to the questions certified in Fawdry and Smallwood:

DOES THE HOLDING IN UNITED STATES v. ROBINSON, 414 U.S. 218, 94 S. Ct. 467, 38 L. Ed. 2d 427 (1973), ALLOW A POLICE OFFICER TO SEARCH THROUGH INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN A CELL PHONE THAT IS ON AN ARRESTEE'S PERSON AT THE TIME OF A VALID ARREST?

Passing the bar isn't the meal ticket it used to be.

Once the surest path to a six-figure salary and a life of luxury, a law degree in the aftermath of the Great Recession comes with far fewer guarantees, leaving many graduates with mountains of debt while confronted by a ...

PHOENIX — Police agencies that would enforce the most controversial part of Arizona's 2010 immigration law are expected to get squeezed by legal challenges from opposite sides if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the law in the coming days.

Opponents of the Arizona law, known as S.B. 1070, are likely ...

DENVER — Crews in northern Colorado are facing powerful winds as they battle a blaze that has scorched about 86 square miles of mountainous forest land and destroyed at least 181 homes, the most in state history.

Meanwhile, local authorities are focusing on another concern looting.

The destructiveness of the ...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A shallow avalanche on Alaska's Mount McKinley may not have killed four Japanese climbers, but the slide pushed them into a crevasse more than 100 feet deep and beyond the reach of any possible rescue, the National Park Service said Sunday.

Spokeswoman Kris Fister said Sunday that ...

BELLEFONTE, Pa. — After a gripping, emotionally charged four days of testimony that saw eight men ranging in age from 18 to 28 tell jurors that Jerry Sandusky sexually abused them as children, the former Penn State assistant football coach soon will get to tell his side of the story.

...

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Have you ever stopped to think about how the breakup of AT&T revolutionized the information and communications technology market? Most people probably haven't, but in 1984, the end of the regulated monopoly ushered in an era of unprecedented competition and innovation.

For those who are not familiar, AT&T broke ...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The National Park Service has halted a search for four Japanese climbers believed buried on Mount McKinley because of dangerous search conditions.

The agency announced Sunday that 10 rescuers including a handler with a dog reached on Saturday the debris zone where an avalanche is believed ...