Recently, the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals in a drug case addressing two important issues: (1) the proper standard of review for a district court’s conclusions of law in appeals by the State; and (2) whether a dog-sniff of a car was supported by reasonable articulable suspicion. This blog is two parts….
In using the Fourth Amendment to the advantage of their clients, lawyers must distinguish between: (1) a “house,” which is provided full Fourth Amendment protection; and (2) the “curtilage.” A warrantless search of the former will send up red flags to any criminal defense attorney, but the latter, despite receiving somewhat less Fourth Amendment protection,…
We recently blogged ad nauseam about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bernard v. Minnesota and its impact on DWI laws, especially in Minnesota. But the most important Fourth Amendment decision from the Court’s 2016 term is Utah v. Strieff. As a result, a police officer may illegally stop someone, see if they have an…
Ever wonder if someone is listening to your conversation when you are in a courthouse? Or, even standing outside the building on the courthouse steps? The answer may very well be yes – the government may be listening and they may be doing so without a warrant. Conversations around courthouses occur every day when court…
The wait is over. Last Thursday, the United States Supreme Court finally decided Bernard v. Minnesota.[1] Justice Alito’s thirty-eight-page opinion for the majority can be summed up with the following: breath testing is less invasive than blood testing; therefore the states can criminalize refusing to submit to a breath test in a DWI case, but…
In State v. Schmidt, a police officer was patrolling the area of a known drug house. The officer noticed Schmidt’s vehicle parked at the house and knew Schmidt did not have a valid driver’s license. The officer waited for Schmidt to leave the house and initiated a traffic stop. The officer then peppered Schmidt with…
Every day law enforcement officers across the country are seeking search warrants. To do so, they often prepare a search warrant affidavit, or application, and provide it to a judicial officer for approval. The affidavit must establish probable cause that evidence of criminal activity will be found in the area to be searched or the…