Archives: Analysis

Automobile search and plain view seizure of items were proper

Facts In the early morning hours of November 27, 2022, Officer Ryu Warnsley of the Hattiesburg Police Department (HPD) was doing a security check at the Luxury Inn on Highway 49 in Hattiesburg. The HPD had received numerous complaints about drug sales and prostitution at the Luxury Inn, so officers regularly inquired with the hotel’s […]

Primary purpose of checkpoint was to check license and insurance

Facts On February 23, 2023, police officers Joe Latham and Adam McGuffee set up a safety checkpoint at a four way stop at the intersection of Highway 18 and Highway 13 in Puckett, Mississippi. Officer McGuffee testified that he saw a vehicle driven by Lavern Kendrick stop short of the checkpoint, about one hundred yards […]

Qualified immunity denied for officer who shot and killed a puppy

Facts (If you are new to 1983 actions, click here for help) Body cam videos: https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/23/23-30180_Exhibit_B_Burmaster_Bwc.mp4 https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/23/23-30180_Exhibit_C_Roussell_Bwc.mp4 Around 9p.m. on April 10, 2021, Plaintiffs Derek Brown and Julia Brown got into an argument at their home in New Orleans. A neighbor called the police and Officer Burmaster responded to the complaint. Officer Burmaster waited for […]

Warrant for stolen truck and statements obtained by police were properly obtained

Facts After seeing a stolen pickup truck on Dustin Siegert’s property, law enforcement officers applied for and obtained a search warrant to search Siegert’s property, 8977 Deer Trail, for the truck, keys to the truck, and other instruments potentially associated with the theft such as cell phones. The warrant permitted the search of the entire […]