Monthly Updates

December 2019 Case Summaries - Circuit Courts of Appeals

Prepared by the Legal Training Division at FLETC

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First Circuit

• United States v. Roman: Whether a federal agent’s search warrant affidavit contained material misrepresentations and omissions made with reckless disregard for the truth.

• United States v. Moran: Whether the defendant’s sister had the actual or apparent authority to consent to the search of plastic bags belonging to the defendant that were located in a storage unit rented by his sister.

Fifth Circuit

• Garza v. Briones: Whether officers were entitled to qualified immunity in a lawsuit alleging excessive force for the shooting of a suspect who pointed a pistol at the officers, which the officers later discovered was a BB gun.

Seventh Circuit

• United States v. Eatman: Whether the use of handcuffs transformed an investigatory stop into a de facto arrest without probable cause.

Eighth Circuit

• United States v. Davis: Whether the passenger in a rental vehicle had standing to object to its search and whether the officer unreasonably extended the duration of a traffic stop.

Ninth Circuit

• United States v. Ped: Whether it was reasonable for officers to believe that a parolee still lived at the address provided to his probation officer three months earlier when they conducted a warrantless search and found unlawfully possessed firearms.

Tenth Circuit

• United States v. Williams: Whether the warrantless search of the defendant’s laptop pursuant to a border search violated the Fourth Amendment.

Additional Updates

Undocumented Alien’s 4th Amendment Protections during ICE Detention

January 7, 2020

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Certainly, there is a great deal of discussion among law enforcement, the media, and the public concerning ICE operations at large employment centers.  Do undocumented workers have 4th Amendment protections in these situations and, if so, can evidence of alienage be suppressed if improperly secured by officers or ICE agents at the scene?  Let’s take a look at the facts in the Cruz[1] case and see what the 9th Circuit had to say.

10th Circuit: Detention and Frisking of Car Passenger was Proper

This week we look at a traffic stop case, United States v. Gurule, that touches on a number of issues – requiring passengers to exit the vehicle during the stop, consent to search, and frisking the passenger during a consent search. I often say that the success or failure of a case is often determined based on a matter of seconds and the quality of the officer’s report or testimony. I think you will see those issues play out in today’s case.