Subject can waive both 5th and 6th amendment right and talk to police
Facts Robert Peterson returned to his home in east Columbus after fourteen hours at work in September, 2006. He found his house ransacked “like a tornado had gone through” and called 911. Officers from the Columbus Police Department (CPD) arrived twenty to thirty minutes later. They observed splintered wood and broken glass at the back-door […]
Blood obtained by consent and/or exigent circumstances in this case
Facts In 2007, Larry Setzer was driving east in a Ford F–250 pickup truck on Goodman Road in Southaven, Mississippi. As Setzer approached the traffic light at the intersection of Goodman Road and Airways Boulevard, his vehicle collided with a stationary Buick Park Avenue passenger car in the north turn lane of east Goodman Road. […]
Voluntary consent eliminates need for search warrant
Facts In 2008, while driving a Ford Ranger pick-up truck, Thomas Irby collided with a Dodge van driven by Olivia Miller. Also occupying Olivia’s vehicle was her husband, Justin Miller. All three were injured. Both drivers sustained injuries to their legs and feet, and the passenger, Justin, sustained brain injuries and was in a coma […]
Officer not in custody when he gave statement
Facts Jane Smith ran away from home on June 19, 2007. Jane was fourteen years old at the time. Tara Smith, Jane’s mother, discovered that Jane was missing around 4:00 a.m. and called the Greenville Police Department (GPD) to report Jane’s disappearance. Benjamin Roberson, then a patrol officer with the GPD, responded to Tara’s call. Roberson […]
Evidence from an officer accidentally crossing outside of their jurisdiction is admissible
Facts In the late hours of Christmas Eve 2005, the Chief of Police of the Town of Marion, Mississippi, Ben Langston, was on duty in his police cruiser at the entrance of Valley Ridge Apartments, within the Marion city limits. He observed a car drive by at approximately ten miles over the speed limit, traveling east […]
Bumping the fog line constitutes careless driving
Facts In 2007, Tony Martin was pulled over for careless driving by Trooper Robert Hamblin on Mississippi Highway 314 in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Hamblin stopped Martin after observing Martin’s vehicle “kind of bump the fog line, went from the center line to the fog line.” When questioning Martin during the traffic stop, Hamblin noticed the […]