Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat

Supreme Court Holds That Officers’ Pursuit of a Fleeing Suspected Misdemeanant Does Not “Categorically” Justify Warrantless Entry to the Home

Yesterday, in an opinion authored by Justice Kagan, the Supreme Court issued an order on United States v. Lange, and held that the flight of a suspected misdemeanant does not always justify the warrantless entry of a police officer into a home. FEDagent previously reported on this case when the Court granted certiorari.

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Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat

The Supreme Court Holds That Tribal Officers May Stop and Search Non-Indians on Tribal Lands

In February 2016, Officer James Saylor of the Crow Police Department was traveling on a public right-of-way that passes through the Crow Reservation in Montana. Saylor saw a truck parked on the side of the highway, and pulled up to see if its occupants needed assistance. Saylor approached the truck and spoke to the driver, Joshua James Cooley.

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Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat Case Law Update Michael J. Sgarlat

Supreme Court Denies Qualified Immunity, Finding that Law Is Clear Inmates Require Clean Cells

Trent Taylor is an inmate at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. For six days in September 2013, Taylor claimed that correctional officers confined him in two different unsanitary cells. In the first, the floor, the ceiling, the window, the walls, and even the water faucet were covered in feces. Taylor did not eat or drink for four days because he feared that he would consume contaminated products.

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Case Law Update James P. Garay Heelan Case Law Update James P. Garay Heelan

Federal Government May Retry Dismissed Oklahoma Convictions For Crimes On Creek Reservation

Thousands of Oklahoma convictions of Creek Nation members on reservation land may be dismissed following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma. In that case, the Supreme Court held that only the tribes and federal government may prosecute Native Americans living in most of Eastern Oklahoma for crimes committed there. This holding may be extended to dismiss potentially thousands of state convictions for retrial by either tribal governments or the U.S. Department of Justice.

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