In a reaction to the shooting of Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell, a Minnesota legislator has authored HF1829, a bill that will allow County Attorneys and Assistant County Attorneys who possess a valid permit to carry a firearm to carry firearms while on duty. Currently, with the exception of licensed peace officers, Minnesota law prohibits… Read more »
Florida Courts Question Reliability of Intoxilyzer DUI Results
In October, 100 DUI cases were dismissed in Florida due to inaccuracies of Intoxilyzer 8000s. The Intoxilyzer is a breath test machine used by law enforcement that measures blood alcohol content of those suspected of driving while intoxicated. Blood alcohol content test results are critical DWI prosecutions. In those DWI cases that were tossed by… Read more »
Minnesota Appeals: Time restrictions for post-conviction relief
In a decision filed today in the Minnesota Supreme Court case of Colbert v. State of Minnesota, the Court affirmed the dismissal of the petition as the claims raised were untimely. This is not a particularly noteworthy case, but it is a good illustration of the harsh consequences of failing to challenge convictions and appeals… Read more »
US v. Jones: GPS Tracking Vehicles is a Search under the 4th Amendment
Today, in the case of United States v. Jones, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) held that law enforcement attaching GPS devices to vehicles is a physical trespass and constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution. In doing so, the court affirmed the lower court’s judgment suppressing the GPS… Read more »