Articles Posted in Search and Seizure

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. In general, this requires police officers, or other government officials, to obtain a warrant prior to conducting a search. However, over the years, courts have carved out several exceptions to the warrant requirement, based on the reasoning that not every search is “unreasonable,” and not everything that would seem to be a search is legally recognized as a search. Whether a search related to a Michigan airport crime is valid can depend on a number of circumstances. Most airport searches are considered administrative searches, and...

Earlier this month, a state appellate court issued a written opinion in a Michigan breaking and entering case involving law enforcement’s use of GPS data recovered from the defendant’s cellular phone. The case required the court to determine if law enforcement’s search of the defendant’s phone required suppression of the evidence that was on the phone. Ultimately, the court concluded that the search was permissible, affirming the defendant’s convictions. According to the court’s opinion, the allegations in this case spanned from December 22 to December 23, 2016. Evidently, someone broke into a Clinton County business and then stole a car...

Recently, a state appellate court issued a written opinion in a Michigan gun crime case involving the defendant’s claim that his statement should have been suppressed prior to trial. The case illustrates the importance of pretrial motions to suppress, especially when someone makes inculpatory statements after their arrest. The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution afford citizens important rights when it comes to interactions with police officers and law enforcement officials. Among the rights conferred by these amendments is the right to be free from self-incrimination. In the landmark 1966 case of Miranda v. Arizona, the...

Last month, a state appellate court issued a written opinion in a gun possession case presenting an issue that frequently arises in many Michigan drug cases, or other possessory offenses. The case required the court to determine if the police officers’ approach of the defendant’s vehicle constituted a seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Finding that the officer’s reason for approaching was not to investigate criminal activity, but to check on the welfare of the defendant, the court rejected the defendants’ motion to suppress. Generally, police officers need a warrant to conduct a search or seizure. However,...

Earlier this month, a state appellate court issued a written opinion in a Michigan gun case involving a police officer’s purported inventory search of the defendant’s vehicle. The case is a good example of what police officers can – and cannot – do during a valid Michigan traffic stop. According to the court’s opinion, a police officer observed the defendant driving a car with a license plate light that was hanging in front of the license plate. The officer followed the defendant into a parking lot, and the defendant parked in a spot in the far corner of the lot....