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Digital-privacy group backs carjacker’s Supreme Court appeal
Cellphones should not be treated like garbage, a digital-privacy group stated Friday in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the appeal of a man who led police on a high-speed car chase into Fort Meade before being convicted of carjacking with the help of information officers found on the phone he had abandoned during […]
4th Circuit requests additional facts in cell site simulator case
A federal appeals court remanded a Baltimore man’s lawsuit over the use of a cell site simulator to locate him, ordering the trial court to make more factual findings about the device. Kerron Andrews filed suit arguing the Baltimore Police Department violated his Fourth Amendment rights when it used the device, known as Hailstorm, to track him in […]
Baltimore man appeals carjacking conviction to Supreme Court
A Baltimore man who led police on a high-speed car chase into Fort Meade five years ago has appealed his subsequent carjacking conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. In papers filed with the justices this month, Dontae Small argued through counsel that the trial judge improperly admitted into evidence information retrieved from Small’s cellphone. Brandon […]
Md. high court will consider whether MTA police violated Fourth Amendment
ANNAPOLIS – Maryland’s top court will consider whether state transit officers violated the constitutional rights of light rail passengers by putting on a show of force in conducting a sweep of the train cars to ensure fares were paid. The Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed to hear the state’s appeal of a lower court […]
MTA police violated Fourth Amendment, appeals court says
The Maryland Transit Administration violated the constitutional rights of light rail passengers when MTA officers put on a show of force in conducting a sweep of the train cars to ensure fares were paid, the state’s second-highest court held Thursday in overturning the gun- possession conviction of a passenger caught in the sweep. In its […]
Court upholds constitutionality of Baltimore seat-belt check
Clifton Johnson would not be in prison for illegal gun possession if he had worn his seat belt or if the traffic light at a Baltimore intersection had been green. During afternoon rush hour three years ago, Johnson was caught beltless at a red light amid the Baltimore police’s coordinated effort to enforce the state’s […]
High court to consider whether pot odor gives cause to arrest
Maryland’s top court will consider whether police have probable cause to arrest someone for marijuana possession if they smell the drug clearly on the person – even though possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana is not a crime in the state. The Court of Appeals agreed this week to review a lower court […]
Md. high court: Burnt-marijuana smell does not justify arrest, search
The smell of burnt marijuana emanating from a car may give police probable cause to search the vehicle but not to arrest and search the occupant unless the officers had probable cause to suspect he or she possessed at least 10 grams of the drug or was driving under its influence, Maryland’s top court ruled […]
High court overturns gun conviction, says frisk violated 4th Amendment
A divided Maryland high court on Tuesday overturned an ex-felon’s gun possession conviction, saying Baltimore police violated his constitutional rights by frisking him without reasonable suspicion he was armed. In its 5-2 decision, the Court of Appeals said Tamere Thornton’s furtive movements during a traffic stop provided the officers with at most an “unparticularized hunch” […[...]
‘Look-in’ search of suspect’s underwear unconstitutional, Md. court says
A Frederick County police officer violated a woman’s constitutional rights by looking down her underwear during a highway-side search for hidden drugs after a traffic stop allegedly revealed cocaine in her car, Maryland’s second-highest court has ruled in overturning her drug conviction. In its reported 3-0 decision, the Court of Special Appeals said the “look-in” […]
Simon stands: Justices decline review of K-9 sniff case
The U.S. Supreme Court will not review whether drug-sniffing dog Simon’s failure to give a definitive alert to Ocean City police nevertheless gave the officers probable cause to search a car for illegal contraband. The justices on Monday let stand without comment lower court decisions that Simon’s jittery behavior – though short of the certain […]
Supreme Court appeal rests on what Simon didn’t say
A drug-sniffing dog’s failure to give a definitive alert to Ocean City police forms the basis of a convicted would-be heroin dealer’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. In his bid for high court review, Ryan Steck claims officers in the beachfront city lacked probable cause to search the car he was in during a […]
