The Stale Misdemeanor Rule
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 […]
Seizing Cellphone of O.D. Victim
Anthony Bandiero here, bringing you another question and answer. This one is from an officer in New York. The question is, when officers respond to an OD, and the person is revived, can you take their cell phone as evidence? You want to see who the dealer is, because that’s the person who could potentially […]
Manipulation Rule Relaxed?
This question comes from an officer in Florida. And he asks, “Have courts relaxed the manipulation rule under Terry patdowns?” What the officer’s talking about here is a case that’s called Minnesota versus Dickerson, US Supreme Court. Basically what happened there was that officers patted down Dickerson and they felt an item in his pocket […]
Binoculars in Public Areas
This question comes from an officer in Alabama. And basically, the question is: Can cops use binoculars to view suspects in a public area? They want to see, for example, sales of narcotics, and so forth. Now, does the officer need probable cause to do that? Does the cop need probable cause to make contact […]
S.W.A.T. In a Neighbor’s Backyard
Anthony Bandiero here to bring you another chat. We’ve got an excellent question here from an officer in California. The officer is basically asking, “Can police go into a neighbor’s backyard during a SWAT operation?” Excellent question. So let me give you a little feedback about the scenario here. During a SWAT operation, let’s say […]
When Does a Hotel Room Become a Home?
Here is our next question: When does a hotel room become a home or an apartment? If a hotel room is actually constitutionally considered a true home, then you may not be able to evict the occupants without a traditional pre-approval. So let’s walk through this doctrine. Number one, hotel rooms are quasi homes, right? […]
Evacuation Centers and The Fourth Amendment
How does the Fourth Amendment apply to evacuation shelters? My name is Anthony Bandiero. I’m an attorney and senior legal instructor for Blue to Gold Law Enforcement Training. So let’s go through this. The question comes from an officer in Florida. After a hurricane or other natural disaster, hundreds of people are displaced temporarily, to […]
Unconscious Person ID
Can you search an unconscious person’s property for their ID? Generally, we cannot search people for identification if they’re only being detained. They do have to identify themselves. They don’t have to physically provide an ID, but if they fail to identify, then that has legal consequences. Searching them for their ID is a different […]
Can you ping someone’s phone?
This question comes from an officer in Utah. The officer is basically saying, What are the requirements to ping a cell phone for a suicidal subject?” Here is some context. Can officers request a cell phone ping based off of a third party’s suicidal report? Sometimes these reports are hours, if not days old. Is […]