Law for VA LEOs

Today we examine an old question in Virginia law, which is still a challenge in the law today: When does a threat become a criminal act? We talk about a recent case, old cases, and Virginia statues to answer the question.

What exactly does "Probable Cause" mean? This month, there were two new cases on plain view that are really about the meaning of "probable cause."

Just 4 months after ruling a pat down of a fanny pack was unlawful, the 4th Circuit ruled this week that another pat down of a fanny pack WAS lawful. Why was this case different? We examine the case and other recent pat down and search cases.

What is the law when you can do a show-up, or a single-photo identification, versus a photo array? This week we talk about the law and best practices in suspect identification.

This week, we got two new laws on Marijuana at the last minute, going into effect July 1, 2022, as well as a surprising new case suppressing a searches based on Marijuana possession. Today, we discuss both.

In the last few weeks, the Court of Appeals has suppressed two consent searches in rulings that you may find surprising. Today we examine those rulings.

In a traffic stop (or any detention), the 4th Amendment sets strict limits on how long you can detain a person. Today, we talk about two new cases from January, 2022 on how long police can detain a person during a traffic stop.

This week is Part II of our "New Laws" for 2022 series. We talk about bills regarding ECOs & TDOs, Marcus Alerts, Financial Exploitation, Law Enforcement Firearms, Retired Law Enforcement Officers, and Facial Recognition Technology.

The General Assembly has passed and the Governor has signed several new laws that we discuss today: Changes to FOIA, Search Warrants, Arrest/Summons Quotas, Catalytic Converter Thefts, and Venue for certain crimes,

This legislative session, the General Assembly declined to "re-enact" Marijuana legalization - what does that mean for the marijuana law in Virginia now? We dive into the details today.