United States Supreme Court - February 19, 2013
by: Jwestover and Abassos • February 20, 2013 • no comments
Police Authority to Detain a Person on a Search Warrant is Limited to Immediate Vicinity of Search
Police may not detain a person incident to the execution of a search warrant unless that person is in ”the immediate vicinity of the premises to be searched.” The immediate vicinity is “the area in which an occupant poses a real threat to the safe and efficient execution of a search warrant,” and should be determined in light of all relevant factors. Relevant factors may include “the lawful limits of the premises, whether the occupant was within the line of sight of his dwelling, [and] the ease of reentry from the occupant’s location.” Here, defendants were observed leaving a basement apartment that police were about to search pursuant to a warrant. Officers followed defendants for nearly one mile (five minutes) before detaining them, handcuffing them, and returning them to the apartment. The Court finds the seizure unlawful under Michigan v. Summers, 452 US 692 (1981), but does not rule on the Court of Appeals holding that the stop was lawful under Terry v. Ohio, 392 US 1 (1968). Bailey v. United States, 568 US ___ (Feb. 19, 2013) (slip opinion)
SCOTUS Weighs in on the Reliability of Drug Dog Sniff Tests in the Field
In Florida v. Harris, 568 US ___ (Feb. 29, 2013) the United States Supreme Court rules on the issue of the reliability of drug dogs conducting sniff tests in the field. This opinion treads on the same ground as the Oregon Supreme Court cases State v. Foster, 350 Or 161 (2011), and State v. Helzer, 350 Or 153 (2011), summarized here.
