Can a K9 Sniff Luggage at a Bus Station?
A canine handler in Nevada was asked to run his dog around luggage coming off a Greyhound bus. Anthony works through when the sniff is free, when moving a bag becomes a Fourth Amendment seizure, what reasonable suspicion buys you, and why sourcing the alert matters before you start opening bags.
When Can Police Search Someone’s Trash?
Trash pulls have been around a very long time and they can produce a massive amount of evidence. Anthony walks through the general rule of abandonment, what changes when the can is still on the property or the curtilage, how to handle community dumpsters, and why the best practice is to let the collection company do it.
Are Orders to Detain and Transport a Suspect for an Interview Lawful?
An officer in Missouri asked about a common practice in Kansas City, where prosecutors issue a stop order or person of interest order and the person is then handcuffed and transported to the station for a formal interview. Anthony walks through why that is fine if the order rests on probable cause, and why it is a serious problem if it does not.
Can You Arrest Based Only on a Verbal Allegation?
One person says they were struck, the other says it never happened, and there is nothing else. Generally the rule is no. Here is what turns an accusation into probable cause, and how immunity cuts both ways.
Can Police Search a Car After the Driver Parks and Walks Away?
A reckless driver parks, walks off, and is arrested for DUI ten minutes later around the corner. The answer runs through probable cause, not through the arrest, and Gant does less work here than you would think.
Can You Arrest for Driving While Suspended, Search, Then Release?
Arrest on an arrestable offense, search incident to it, and let them go if nothing turns up. The Supreme Court closed this door in Knowles v. Iowa, and here is why the custodial arrest is the whole point.
Can Officers Enter a Residence to Serve an Order of Protection?
Matlock gets you in on the protected party’s keys. Randolph and Fernandez govern the objecting co-occupant. And the Ninth Circuit says a separate warrant would be superfluous when you already hold the court order.
Can Police Be Sued for Kicking In a Door During a Civil Standby?
She lives there, so she could have forced the door herself. And because she could do it, she can authorize someone with more brawn to do it for her. The officers were acting as her agent.
Can You Unlock a Car to Retrieve Someone’s Lost or Mislaid Property?
No exception covers it. Not the motor vehicle exception, not community caretaking, and no judge is signing a warrant. The lockout kit was wrong, and so was the brass telling him to impound and get one.
Can Police Automatically Pat Down Suspected Gang Members?
Michigan v. Long is a vehicle frisk case about a drunk driver and a visible knife. It says nothing about gang members. A one-percent patch is one factor, and courts want to see the rest of the stack.
Can You Arrest for DUI If You Never Saw Them Driving?
Most DUI statutes cover actual physical control proven circumstantially, so a conviction without seeing the driving is possible. The intervening drink at home is what breaks this particular case.
Can You Seize a Bicycle Based Only on a Victim’s Word That It Is Stolen?
No receipt, no serial number, and a bike tied up beside a tent. When ownership is contested and the circumstantial evidence is thin, the move is to stay neutral and send them to civil court.
Can Police Open a Mailbox to See Who Lives There?
No privacy interest in what is printed on an envelope. The problem is lawful access: walking onto the curtilage just to check a mailbox is a Jardines trespass.
Can Police Arrest for a Felony Committed Days Earlier?
There is no stale felony rule. If you have probable cause that the person committed a felony, you can arrest days later, and you can Mirandize him about it.
Can Police Seize a Gun in Plain View in a Parked Car Under Community Caretaking?
Cady v. Dombrowski is the anchor. Caniglia, Valencia and Chavez are different cases. With a gun in plain view in an unregistered car in a public lot, the initial seizure likely holds.