Tagging Abandoned Vehicles on Curtilage
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This is a question that comes up a lot. I’m being very proactive about this particular issue, which is; Can police tag an abandoned or junk vehicle when it’s on curtilage? Okay, here is the scenario. There’s a new ordinance. This is comes out of the great state of Louisiana. There’s an ordinance that directs […]
Back Yard Arrests
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Anthony Bandiero here. The question I have for you is: Can officers go into the backyard when they’re serving an arrest warrant and not violate curtilage? The answer is, “Yes,” officers can do it. And here’s why. First of all, from the Supreme Court’s perspective, the back yard is typically treated like the home itself. […]
Community Caretaking and Red Flag Laws
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This is a commentary on Corniglia V. Strong, US Supreme Court, May 17, 2021. This is a massively, important case on two fronts. Number one: firearm confiscation and red flag laws. Number two: a little more guidance on the so called Community Caretaking Doctrine as it applies to homes. Let me give you some quick […]
Drug Sniffing Dog in Motel or Apartment Hallway
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Today’s question is: May officers run a drug dog in apartment or motel hallways? And the answer is “yes” and “no.” Officers can run a drug canine in a motel or hotel hallway, but they cannot run the same dog in an apartment hallway. Let me explain to you why. Now, first of all, when […]
Misdemeanor Crimes not Committed in Your Presence
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Our next topic is: How do you handle misdemeanor crimes that are not committed in your presence? Many states have a misdemeanor restriction that you cannot make an arrest for a mis-demeanor that was not committed in your presence. Now, all of those states that have this restriction also have some exceptions. For example: DUI, […]
Running Firearm Serial Number During Traffic Stop
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Our next question is: Can you run the serial number of a firearm that you are holding during a traffic stop? The answer is; most likely, but there are some caveats I want to go over. First of all, we do know that if you are lawfully seizing a gun, for example, during a pat […]
Searching Passengers for Marijuana
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Today we are going to answer a question that a lot of you have on your mind. Can you search a vehicle’s passenger for marijuana? And the answer is: probably. However, I have to go into some legal reasoning here because the answer is really not that clear. There are two key cases I want […]
Can Officers Lie During Knock and Talks?
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The question of the day is: Can officers lie during a knock and talk? The answer is, “Yes.” Certainly officers are not required to share all their inner secrets about an investigation with an occupant. So that’s not a problem. Courts have upheld deception during investigations for centuries. But I want to transition to another […]
K9 Sniffs in Parking Lots
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Today’s question is: Can you run a canine in a motel parking lot? The short answer is yes, you can, and here’s why. A person that is staying at a hotel does not usually have any reasonable expectation of privacy in the parking lot. Think about it. When you go to stay at a Hilton […]
What is Plain View?
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What is plain view? Plain view is nothing more than right to be, right to see. That’s the simplicity of it: right to be, right to see, hear and smell. So basically, the idea here is that if you are lawfully present, there is no search under the Fourth Amendment if you are simply using […]
What is a Private Search?
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What evidence can I use from a private search? Well, the short answer is: all of it. Here is why: a private search is when a person searches or seizes something and there’s no government involvement. Now, the general rule is that if there is no government involvement, you can use any evidence that they […]
The Stale Misdemeanor Rule
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What is the stale misdemeanor rule? The stale misdemeanor rule is a common law doctrine. It essentially means that a crime was committed within the officer’s presence, and he or she could arrest that person right then and there, but waits, and doesn’t arrest yet. If he then arrests sometime down the road, let’s say […]