Recent Posts in Fourth Amendment Category
Posted on Aug 12, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
In the course of a motion to suppress the physical evidence that is seized during a pat-down search (Terry stop), there will be a number of phrases that are thrown around the courtroom. One of those ...
Continue reading "What Does The Phrase Specific And Articulable Facts Mean?" »
Posted on Aug 11, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
This a question that we often get asked. Remember, the Fourth Amendment protects ones privacy from government intrusion. Generally, absent a promise otherwise, the Fourth Amendment does not protect an ...
Continue reading "Does The Fourth Amendment Protect An Individual's Privacy In The Workplace?" »
Posted on Aug 10, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
This is a very interesting topic in the Fourth Amendment arena. The question here really concerns whether a juvenile has Fourth Amendment protection while at school. The Supreme Court of the United ...
Continue reading "Can A Teacher Search My Child At School?" »
Posted on Aug 9, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
The basis for a stop-and-frisk search is that the officer must be certain that he or she is not in danger. Thus, the law allows them to conduct searches of those people suspected of crime to see if ...
Continue reading "Can The Police Search For Anything During An Investigative Detention?" »
Posted on Aug 8, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
As we noted earlier, depending on all of the circumstances, the police can be suspicious that a crime is occuring or is about to occur. In that regard, once the police have a suspicion (that can be ...
Continue reading "Does Terry v. Ohio Allow The Police To Conduct A Search?" »
Posted on Aug 4, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
In the last 50 years, there has been a number of substantial cases issued by the United States Supreme Court that effected criminal jurisprudence. The case that started it all was Terry v. Ohio , 392 ...
Continue reading "What Does An Officer Need To Have To Conduct An Investigative Detention?" »
Posted on Aug 3, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
As we continue to analyze the kinds of encounters between the police and an average citizen, lets refresh where we are. Yesterday, we addressed the kind of encounter called an investigative detention. ...
Continue reading "What Is An Investigative Detention?" »
Posted on Aug 2, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
Yesterday, we began to examine the different types of encounters or detentions between the police and citizenry. We first addressed the issue concerning a voluntary encounter between the police and ...
Continue reading "Encounters Between The Police And Citizenry Continued?" »
Posted on Jul 25, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
As we have noted in our examination of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, a person has Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 9 of the Texas Constitution protection ...
Continue reading "What Constitutional Protections Does A Person Have In Their Backyard?" »
Posted on Jul 19, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
We know that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that all searches and seizures shall be conducted pursuant to a warrant. No warrant shall issue without probable cause. ...
Continue reading "In Texas Specifically, Is There A Warrant Requirement?" »
Posted on Jul 18, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
It is always important to take a step back and remember why there is a Fourth Amendment . Remember, the Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. As a general rule, the law ...
Continue reading "Do The Police Need A Warrant To Conduct A Search?" »
Posted on Jul 14, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
If you will recall, we have addressing the Fourth Amendment and protection in one's home. After all, there is no greater sense of protection and privacy that one has in his or her own home. We have ...
Continue reading "Fourth Amendment Protection In My Home, Continued." »
Posted on Jul 13, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
This question might seem weird--but, today we are evaluating this unique situation to see just how far we have gone in the Fourth Amendment. As you may recall, the Fourth Amendment provides us great ...
Continue reading "Can The Police Use A Drug Sniffing Dog Outside Of My Home?" »
Posted on Jul 11, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
If you will recall, in a previous blog post we analyzed the evolution of the Fourth Amendment and its focus of protection on privacy (e.g., people) and not things. Perhaps though, no thing in this ...
Continue reading "How Does The Fourth Amendment Protect Me In My Home?" »
Posted on Jun 29, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
Obviously, the Fourth Amendment is trying to protect "the people" from unreasonable searches and seizures (mainly warrantless searches and seizures not supported by probable cause). Initially, Fourth ...
Continue reading "What Is The Fourth Amendment Trying To Protect?" »
Posted on Apr 7, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
The Fourteenth District Court of Appeals at Houston recently handed down an opinion that provides an interesting twist in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. The case is Kelly v. State , 331 S.W.3d 541 ...
Continue reading "Prior Convictions For Narcotics Can Be Used As A Factor To Establish Reasonable Suspicion To Engage In Further Questioning" »
Posted on Apr 6, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
An interesting case was recently handed down by the Eighth District Court of Appeals of Texas at El Paso. The case name is In re S.M.C. In this case, a middle school student informed an Assistant ...
Continue reading "Search Of Student's Locker Was Reasonable Based On Reasonable Suspicion" »
Posted on Mar 21, 2011 By Plano Drug Attorney
A teacher's aid in Daytona Beach went to the local Walmart to pick up her ex-boyfriend. Interestingly, he was attempting to escape from store security because he stole some pants and a razor blade. A ...
Continue reading "Elementary Teacher's Aide Arrested For Possession Of Marijuana and Prescription Pills" »