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What to Know About Police Car Searches in San Diego
Introduction: Know Your Rights Before You’re Pulled Over
Being pulled over is never pleasant; it’s even more stressful when a police officer asks to search your vehicle. In San Diego and throughout California, there are specific legal rules that determine when officers can and cannot conduct a vehicle search. Understanding
Why the Prison Litigation Reform Act Must be Repealed
On a weekly, and often daily basis, we hear from people incarcerated in this nation’s jails and prisons seeking help. We hear from people who are not receiving the medical care they need and who are terrified that they will suffer permanent injury from the jail or prison’s failures to
Constitutional Cases for Justice Warriors: Yim v. City of Seattle
Ninth Circuit recognizes “prison to homelessness pipeline, ” upholds (in part) Seattle ordinance forbidding landlords from adverse action based on criminal history.
This spring, the Ninth Circuit decided Yim v. City of Seattle, 63 F.4th 783, 787 (9th Cir. 2023), which despite being a Section 1983
Reed v. Goertz: Criminal defendant challenges Texas post-conviction DNA statutes
U.S. Supreme Court holds that Section 1983 procedural due process claim accrues when state-court litigation ends
Reed v. Goertz, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine when a cause of action accrues (and thus when the statute of limitations period starts running) for a plaintiff’s claim under 42 U.S.C.
Do bogus criminal charges bar a righteous § 1983 civil rights suit? “Heck No!” says Ninth Circuit.
It’s sadly a common fact pattern: a member of the community is involved in an altercation with the police; the police use excessive force; but it’s the community member who gets charged with a criminal offense. As we’ve reported earlier here, a related criminal case presents a sticky wicket
Civil Case Updates for Criminal Practitioners Archive (April 2020)
Multiple dwellings and probable cause for search warrants
Blight v. City of Manteca,
944 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2019)
Manteca, California! Nestled about halfway between Modesto and Stockton off of Highway 99, it is the hometown of former NBA point guard and coach Scott Brooks – an
Civil Case Updates for Criminal Practitioners Archive (March 2020)
Gang evidence “almost always prejudicial.”
Gilmore v. Lockard,
936 F.3d 857, 859 (9th Cir. 2019)
In Gilmore v. Lockard, 936 F.3d 857, 859 (9th Cir. 2019), the Ninth Circuit reversed a defense verdict in favor of prison officials who, a prisoner alleged, used excessive force against him
What is California AB 2799 (the Bill Restricting Use of Rap Lyrics in Criminal Trials)?
Discrimination in the jury selection process is an ongoing reality within the American criminal justice system, but measures have been taken for over a century to address the issue at both the national and state levels.
The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were ratified in 1868 and 1870, respectively,
Korematsu v. United States was ‘Gravely Wrong the Day it Was Decided’
Even though Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)-which condoned the forced relocation of all persons of Japanese ancestry in certain West coast zones during World War II pursuant to Executive Order 9066-was broadly criticized for decades within the legal profession and by American society at large, it was
Say yes to “Time-Served” Deal, Say Goodbye to Wrongful-Incarceration Claim
Taylor v. Cty. of Pima,
2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 1545 (9th Cir., January 17, 2019)
This case addresses the scenario where a defendant was pretty obviously wrongfully convicted, but then cuts a time-served deal to get out of custody. Can he still seek civil justice? Not to spoil the
9TH CIRCUIT CRIMINAL HANDBOOK
Along with the Honorable Larry A. Burns, Tim Scott is the author of the Ninth Circuit Criminal Handbook, which is updated annually.