United States v. Black. In a strongly worded opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stated: The facts of this case give us cause to pause and ponder the slow systematic erosion of the Fourth Amendment protections for a certain demographic. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we are …
On February 8, 2013, a Charleston County jury was unable to reach a verdict in a double-murder trial. It was the second trial for the accused for killing a North Charleston couple back in 2010. The accused testified and stated the two decedents came at him with a sword and a box cutter and argued self-defense. All …
Self-Defense: Double Murder Trial Ends in Hung Jury Read More »
When will a drug-detection dog’s alert to the exterior of a vehicle provide an officer with probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of the vehicle? This was the question posed to the Florida Supreme Court in Harris v. Florida and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari. It is well settled that a K-9 sniff of the exterior of a vehicle …
Anonymous Tip Traffic Stop On January 9, 2013, the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals in State v. Taylor and found police did have reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop and subsequent search of the defendant. Facts The Florence County Sheriff’s office received an anonymous tip regarding suspected drug activity. Police arrived at 11:00 …
Police can’t stop you based only on anonymous tip Read More »
