Law for VA LEOs

On July 1, 2025, Virginia will start "sealing" many felony and misdemeanor convictions from public, court, and criminal justice view. What does that mean? Today we discuss the statute.

In the last few months, three different trial judges have found that FLOCK use by law enforcement was legal, rejecting the Court's ruling from C/w v. Bell in Episode 108. Today we examine those rulings.

In 3 recent cases, the Virginia Court of Appeals has explained how the Exigent Circumstances, Emergency Aid, and Community Caretaker doctrines get confused and how they are different. Today, we talk about how to apply them correctly to avoid confusion.

In the last few weeks, three law enforcement entries into homes have been found unlawful by the Virginia Court of Appeals and 4th Circuit. In one case, an officer was convicted of manslaughter for shooting the resident. This week we examine those rulings.

In June, the US Supreme Court issued two significant rulings on firearms - one involving the 2nd Amendment, and one involving the Federal ban on machine guns. Today we talk about what they mean and what the future holds.

In the last month, we have had 3 cases where courts have affirmed electronic device and data search warrants - One from Virginia on a device, one from the 4th Cir. on a device, and the 4th Circuit's "Geofence" ruling. Today we discuss those rulings.

In the last couple of weeks, the Courts have suppressed two searches incident to arrest, as the 4th Circuit doubled-down on its ruling from US v. Davis restricting search incident to arrest. Still, one case from this week provides a potential alternative. We discuss the cases.

Last month, a local judge suppressed evidence obtained from a FLOCK license plate reader system in Norfolk. This week, we talk about what the case ruled and what it means for Virginia.

In determining whether consent is a valid basis for a search, your words matter - and 2 recent Virginia Court of Appeals cases demonstrate that. We examine those recent rulings.

When is an arrest warrant invalid? When does an arrest warrant fail to provide you with legal protection for your search or seizure? We talk about a recent case from Virginia and another from the 4th Circuit on this issue.