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

• When will officers who mistakenly arrest the wrong person be denied qualified immunity in a civil lawsuit?

• When may an officer briefly seize and investigate a person filming police activity? When will an officer be denied qualified immunity for seizing a person’s cell phone?

• When, under the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement, may an officer briefly seize a person in a parked car?

• When may an officer enter a person’s home and take the person into custody for an involuntary mental health evaluation?

• When must an officer give Miranda warnings? What factors do courts consider when determining if a confession was made voluntarily?