Vol. 28 No. 3 – Secure Communities Program: Mandatory or Optional?
SECURE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM: MANDATORY OR OPTIONAL? The Tenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” When deciding whether or not a federal law is binding on […]
Vol. 27 No. 16 – Court Orders Board to Provide Independent Legal Counsel to Sheriff.
COURT ORDERS BOARD TO PROVIDE INDEPENDENT LEGAL COUNSEL TO SHERIFF We are very pleased to report that a Superior Court Judge, sitting by assignment from another county,[1] has ordered the Lake County Board of Supervisors to pay for independent legal counsel for Sheriff Frank Rivero to assist him in an official matter in which the County […]
Vol. 27 No. 15 – Qualified Immunity Denied When Force Is Used Against Non-Threatening Persons
QUALIFIED IMMUNITY DENIED WHEN FORCE IS USED AGAINST NON-THREATENING PERSONS On July 11, 2012, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the denial of qualified immunity for police officers who fired pepperballs into a crowd of partygoers who posed no threat to them. In the case of Nelson v. City of Davis, 2012 DAR […]
CSSA Magazine Article – Recent Cases Impose New Burdens on Law Enforcement
RECENT CASES IMPOSE NEW BURDENS ON LAW ENFORCEMENT By: Martin J. Mayer, General Counsel California State Sheriffs’ Association Two recent court decisions, one from the federal District Court and one from the California Court of Appeal have imposed new burdens and/or responsibilities on law enforcement management. The federal court has mandated that the California Department of […]
Vol. 27 No. 6 – Names of Officers Involved In An OIS Are Subject to Disclosure Under the CPRA (LBPOA v. City of Long Beach)
NAMES OF OFFICERS INVOLVED IN AN OIS ARE SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE UNDER THE CPRA On February 7, 2012, the California Court of Appeal, 2d Appellate District, ruled that names of peace officers “are not rendered confidential by any of the statutory exemptions contained in the CPRA (California Public Records Act).” In a unanimous decision the court, […]
Vol. 27 No. 5 – Follow Up AB 1028 – CalPERS Circular Letter – Hiring of Annuitaints
FOLLOW UP AB 1028 – CalPERS CIRCULAR LETTER – HIRING OF ANNUITANTS When we issued our client alert last week on the changes to hiring of CalPERS annuitants by CalPERS contracting agencies as instituted through AB 1028, we noted that staff at CalPERS had said that they would be publishing further guidance on these issues, […]
Vol. 27 No. 4 – AB 1028 – Rehire of CalPERS Annuitants
AB 1028 – REHIRE OF CalPERS ANNUITANTS Assembly Bill 1028 (AB 1028) was signed by the Governor in October 2011 and became effective January 1, 2012. This Bill amended certain portions of the Govt. Code having to do with PERS annuitants. Of particular interest to Chiefs and Sheriffs, AB 1028 amended Govt. Code §§ 21221, 21224 […]
Vol. 27 No. 3 – “Open Carry” — Issue Resolved
“OPEN CARRY” – ISSUE RESOLVED In December of 2008, and August of 2011 our office published a series of Client Alert Memorandums to address potential issues with “open carry” under then-Penal Code § 12031(repealed January 1, 2012; now § 25850). Recently, the California Legislature addressed the issue of “open carry” of handguns[1], specifically, or firearms[2] […]
Vol. 27 No. 2 – U.S. Supreme Court Rules Use of GPS Tracking Device Is A Search
U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES USE OF GPS TRACKING DEVICE IS A SEARCH In a unanimous decision on January 23, 2012, in United States v. Antoine Jones, the U.S. Supreme Court held that attaching a GPS device to a vehicle, and then using the device to monitor the vehicle’s movements, constitutes a search under the Fourth […]
Vol. 27 No. 1 – County Jails, State Parolees and ADA
COUNTY JAILS, STATE PAROLEES AND ADA On January 13, 2012, Judge Claudia Wilken, of the federal District Court of Northern California, issued an order, in the case of Armstrong v. Brown, requiring the State of California to monitor county jails to insure that state inmates housed in those jails are provided all their rights under […]