Fourth Amendment

In Heck v. Humphrey (1994), the Supreme Court held that a plaintiff can’t bring a civil suit for wrongful conviction unless his or her conviction was “favorably terminated.” But what if charges were dropped and the plaintiff was never convicted? In Thompson v. Clark the Supreme Court will decide when a plaintiff who was charged but never prosecuted may bring a malicious...

In a Supreme Court amicus brief filed in Caniglia v. Strom, the State and Local Legal Center (SLLC) argues the Fourth Amendment “community caretaking” exception to the warrant requirement should extend beyond automobiles.

A police officer determined Edward Caniglia was “imminently...

In United States v. Cooley the Supreme Court will decide whether tribal police have the authority to temporarily detain and search a non-Indian on a public right-of-way within a reservation based on a potential violation of state or federal law.

The Ninth Circuit held the tribal officer has no such authority unless a legal violation is “obvious” or “apparent.” If it isn’t, any evidence obtained in the search must not be used against...

The issue the Supreme Court will decide in Caniglia v. Strom is whether the Fourth Amendment “community caretaking” exception to the warrant requirement extends to the home.

A police officer determined Edward Caniglia was “imminently dangerous to himself and others” after the previous evening he had thrown a gun on the dining room table and said something to his wife like “shoot me now and get it over with.” Officers convinced Caniglia to go...

The issue in Lange v. California is whether a police officer may enter a person’s house without a warrant when the officer has probable cause to believe he or she has committed a misdemeanor.

Right before Arthur Gregory Lange turned into his driveway and after following him for a while, Officer Weikert turned on his lights to pull him over for playing music loudly and unnecessarily beeping his horn right. Lange didn’t pull over. He later claimed to not notice...