It appears the United States Supreme Court does in fact recognize the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. My faith is revived. In United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. __ (2012), the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that law enforcement officers violated the Fourth Amendment when they attached a GPS device to Antoine [...]
Timothy Brian Cole was 26 years old when he was wrongfully convicted of rape in a Lubbock, Texas, courtroom in 1986. At the time of the rape, he was a student at Texas Tech University – Texas Tech had an enrollment of approximately 22,000 students – About 500 were African-American. Timothy was one of the [...]
The following is a general discussion of federal case law on probable cause and traffic stops. A traffic stop is a “seizure” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, even though the purpose of the stop is limited and the resulting detention is quite brief. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653 (1979). See also [...]
Law enforcement officers patrolling Interstate 40 in and around Amarillo commonly stop automobiles for following too close to the vehicle in front of them. Section 545.062 of the Texas Transportation Code provides: (a) An operator shall, if following another vehicle, maintain an assured clear distance between the two vehicles so that, considering the speed of [...]
Texas law now allows your silence to be used against you whether you testify at your trial or not – another excellent reason to never voluntarily talk to law enforcement officers. In Salinas v. State, No. 14-09-00395-CR, 2011 WL 903984 (Tex.App.-Houston [14 Dist.] Mar 17, 2011) the Court held that the Fifth Amendment to the [...]