This is an online Iowa legal update course for law enforcement officers. The lesson addresses recent court decisions providing guidance to Iowa police officers regarding the following questions:

• Do police officers need a warrant to seize trash that a person puts out for collection?

• Does hot pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect always qualify as an exigent circumstance justifying a warrantless entry into a home?

• Does a community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement ever permit police officers to make warrantless searches and seizures inside the home?

• What statements by an officer constitute a “promise of leniency” making a suspect’s confession inadmissible?

• When may officers enter the porch of a suspect’s home?