Law for VA LEOs

In the last couple of weeks, a US District Court and a Fairfax Circuit Court issued rulings on so-called "geofence" warrants directed to Google, seeking Google location data. This week, we review those rulings in detail.

Today, we talk about a new case from the 4th Circuit, U.S. v. Buster, that says that officers could not pat down a bag strapped to the chest of a suspect in a recent shooting. What does this case really mean?

Financial exploitation cases by caretakers are challenging to investigate and prove, but today we talk about 2 recent Court of Appeals cases that are useful to hold perpetrators accountable.

In Part Two of our series, we talk about the crime of Conspiracy in Virginia - how do you prove it, and why you would want to. We also talk about 2 new cases regarding Conspiracy from Virginia courts.

Under Virginia law, what makes someone guilty of "conspiracy"? What makes someone guilty as an accessory, or an "aider and abettor"? In this two-part series, we examine the fundamentals of Virginia law regarding accessories to crimes and the law of conspiracy. This episode is Part One, where we address the law of accessories and principals.

This week, a new case from the Court of Appeals examines what law enforcement can lawfully do when approaching a home - both in the "curtilage" and in an "open field" under the Fourth Amendment.

This week, we talk about two new cases from the Virginia Courts on Emergencies in the home - overdoses and suicide attempts - and what the 4th Amendment says that law enforcement may do to assist people in danger.

Last week, the US Supreme Court handed down two new rulings on police use of force - one deadly, one non-deadly. While the Court relied on Qualified Immunity, the cases tell us something about how lower courts have been judging use of force by police, even in very dangerous situations.

This week, we talk about a new case from the Court of Appeals regarding a man who had just assaulted his girlfriend with a gun - the Court of Appeals says it was not an exigent circumstance, and we will talk about why.

We use the word "hearsay" all the time, but what does that really mean? Today, in light of a recent case, we examine the idea of hearsay and what makes something hearsay or not in a criminal trial.