2024 Lesson 13: Caselaw Update

The lesson addresses recent court decisions providing guidance to law enforcement officers regarding:

1. Whether an officer is permitted, under the Fourth Amendment, to conduct a warrantless search of an individual being taken into custody pursuant to a warrant for a civil commitment due to mental health issues. Also, whether the “Good Samaritan” law, Missouri Revised Statutes section 195.205, applies in these circumstances.

2. Whether, when police officers seize personal property, owners of that property are entitled, under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process clause, to an adversarial preliminary hearing.

3. Whether an officer must say “You are under arrest” or place an individual in handcuffs to effect an arrest. Also, what officer actions will suffice to make a reasonable person believe that he or she is not free to leave.

4. Whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits police officers from removing homeless individuals from public land pursuant to laws prohibiting camping on that land. Also, how the Fourth and Fifth Amendments may apply when officers clear homeless encampments from public land or remove homeless trespassers from private property.