Consent given during an illegal detention is an issue
Facts In 2018, Neguel Morris began a drive from South Texas to the East Coast with a kilogram of heroin. Late one night, Morris stopped at the Wagin’ Cajun Truck Stop outside Lake Charles, Louisiana. He parked his rental car in a dark lot behind the truck stop casino among several large trucks and went […]
A prisoner with mental illness has a prolonged detention
Facts In 2005, Steven Harris was charged with murdering his father, shooting three law enforcement officers, shooting into occupied vehicles, carjacking, and kidnapping. He pleaded not guilty in a Clay County circuit court, and the court ordered that he be held in custody without bail. While Harris was in custody, his counsel requested a mental […]
the Federal Government and the State have concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians in Indian country
Facts In 2015, Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta was charged by the State of Oklahoma for child neglect. Castro-Huerta was convicted in state court and sentenced to 35 years of imprisonment. While Castro- Huerta’s state court appeal was pending, this Court decided McGirt. There, we held that the Creek Nation’s reservation in eastern Oklahoma had never been properly […]
A violation of the Miranda rules does not provide a basis for a §1983 claim
Facts In March 2014, Terence Tekoh was working as a certified nursing assistant at a Los Angeles medical center. When a female patient accused him of sexually assaulting her, the hospital staff reported the accusation to the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department, and Deputy Carlos Vega responded. Vega questioned Tekoh at length in the hospital, […]
Police don’t have to observe subject driving to charge someone with DUI
Facts In 2020, Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Holcomb responded to a call for assistance from the fire department, which was attending to a vehicle that had flooded out in a roadway inundated with water. Holcomb testified that the firemen were of the opinion that Eugene Bullen was intoxicated. Bullen was still behind the wheel […]
There is no § 1983 when officers had probable cause to support the arrest
Facts Percy Utley filed suit under 42 U.S.C. §1983 against the City of Houston, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, and John Doe Officers, for alleged violations of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights that occurred when he was arrested during a protest following the death of George Floyd. The district court granted the defendants’ motion […]