Vol. 24 No. 1.- Police Negligence Does Not Always Trigger The Exclusonary Rule

POLICE NEGLIGENCE DOES NOT ALWAYS TRIGGER THE EXCLUSONARY RULE The United States Supreme Court has ruled, in a 5-4 decision, that “if an officer reasonably believes there is an outstanding arrest warrant, but that belief turns out to be wrong because of a negligent bookkeeping error by another police employee,” then the “contraband found during […]

Vol. 27 No. 23 – Federal Appellate Court Voids Illinois’ Ban On Concealed Weapons

FEDERAL APPELLATE COURT VOIDS ILLINOIS’ BAN ON CONCEALED WEAPONS On December 12, 2012, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, in Moore et al. v. Madigan (which consolidated two cases for oral argument) that the total ban on carrying concealed weapons, in public, is unconstitutional.  The State of Illinois had a law which prohibited virtually […]

Vol. 27. No. 21 — Controlling Disruptive Behavior At Public Meetings

CONTROLLING DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR AT PUBLIC MEETINGS Two recent cases have addressed what cities or counties can do when a person becomes “disruptive” at a city council or board of supervisors meeting. Both decisions have an impact on efforts by local legislative bodies to control disruptive behavior at public meetings, and how law enforcement can respond to […]

Vol. 27 No. 20 – California Attorney General Says Compliance With “ICE” Detainers Is Optional

CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS COMPLIANCE WITH “ICE” DETAINERS IS OPTIONAL Concerns regarding whether local law enforcement has a duty to cooperate with the federal government, and detain arrestees when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issues an immigration “hold,” was addressed by the California Department of Justice (CalDOJ) yesterday, December 4, 2012, in an Information Bulletin issued […]

Vol. 27 No. 19 – U.S. Supreme Court to Decide DNA Case

U.S. SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE DNA CASE On November 10, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted the case of Maryland v. King for review.  At issue is the question of whether it is constitutional for states and the federal government to require that persons arrested on felony charges provide a DNA sample immediately after arrest? […]