2019 Lesson 3: Legal Update

This is an online, Missouri-specific legal studies course. The lesson addresses recent court decisions providing guidance to law enforcement officers regarding: 

• Whether a person can burglarize a residence in which he/she has a property interest; 

• What evidence is required to prove a person burglarized a residence in which he/she has a property interest; 

• When will law enforcement officials be denied qualified immunity for neglecting an arrestee’s serious medical needs;

• What conduct by law enforcement officers constitutes “deliberate indifference” to a detainee’s serious medical needs; 

• What conduct by police will constitute a “custodial interrogation” requiring Miranda warnings; 

• Whether questioning or conduct by non-law enforcement officers constitutes a “custodial interrogation”;

• When will evidence obtained pursuant to a search warrant be suppressed; 

• Whether a person’s “contact” with a suspected drug trafficker will generally give police probable cause to search the person’s residence; and

• When may officers search a vehicle for a missing person under the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement.