U.S. v. Mason. A trooper did not violate the Fourth Amendment when, after issuing a driver a warning about his window tint and questioning the driver and his passenger on matters unrelated to the traffic stop, the trooper briefly detained defendant and called . . .

Tagged with: Criminal Practice Search & Seizure

U.S. v. Hernandez-Mendez. (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-174-10, 16 pp.) (Davis, J.) No. 09-4511, Nov. 29, 2010; USDC at Greenbelt, Md. (Chasanow, J.) 4th Cir. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: A police officer who was part ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice Search & Seizure

State v. Geer. The state prosecuted defendant for possession of crack cocaine while choosing not to prosecute the man who admitted giving defendant the drugs in exchange for sex. Since the state's decision was based not on any constitutionally impermissible ground such as race or religion but on a desire not to embarrass . . .

Tagged with: Criminal Practice Probable Cause Search & Seizure

State v. Barno. Although trial counsel objected to a jury instruction on the inference of knowledge and possession that arises when a defendant controls the area in which drugs are found, at trial the argument was that the inference instruction was burden-shifting; however, on appeal, defendant argues that the trial court should have included an instruction allowing the jury to accept or reject the permissive inference of knowledge and possession.

Tagged with: Appeals Criminal Practice Jury Instructions Search & Seizure Sumter County

U.S. v. Taylor. (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-164-10, 14 pp.) (Wilkinson, J.) No. 10-4234, Nov. 4, 2010; USDC at Richmond, Va. (Williams, J.) 4th Cir. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: An officer who entered a home ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice Search & Seizure