Supreme Court

On May 30th, 2017, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in County of Los Angeles v. Mendez,[1] which eliminated the 9th Circuit’s “Provocation Rule,” finding that once a use of force is deemed reasonable under Graham v. Connor,[2] […]

On June 23, 2016, the United States Supreme Court ruled that breath tests, but not blood tests, may be administered as a search incident to a lawful arrest for drunk driving.[1] The Supreme Court’s decision was the result of a

On June 20, 2016, the United State Supreme Court released its decision in Utah v. Edward Strieff, Jr.,[1] wherein it held that evidence is admissible even where an officer makes an unconstitutional investigatory stop when, during the stop, the officer

On June 22, 2015 the United States Supreme Court ended the decade long debate of the appropriate use of force standard for pretrial detainees in Kingsley v. Hendrickson[1]. Previously the Fourteenth Amendment standard lay within a fractured body of case

On November 9, 2015, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in Mullenix v. Luna,[1] holding that an officer was entitled to qualified immunity after firing shots at a fleeing vehicle and killing the driver of the vehicle, moments

Eric R. Atstupenas, Esq.  Republished with the permission of Eric R. Atstupenas, Esq.,  Atstupenas Law Office The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in City of Los Angeles, California v. Patel, et al. that the provision of the Los Angeles Municipal Code

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rodriguez v. United States today that absent reasonable suspicion, police extension of a traffic stop in order to conduct a dog sniff violates the Fourth Amendment. An officer observed a motor vehicle veer onto

The United States Supreme Court held, in Carroll v. Carman,[1] that a police officer was entitled to qualified immunity because the law was not clearly established as to whether officers may utilize an entryway, other than the front door, when

Court adjourned at the end of July and its time to learn what they left us to work with! The United States Supreme Court term ended and they delivered opinions on recent case law that impacts the way officers should

In its decision issued just yesterday, the United States Supreme Court delivered the ruling that, barring any exigent circumstances, officers must obtain a warrant to search a cell phone seized in a search incident to a lawful arrest. For the