Tag: fourth amendment

“Breathing New Life” into Section 15 of the Kansas Bill of Rights

Chris Birzer, Executive Comment Editor
This post argues that Section 15 of the Kansas Bill of Rights could be construed broader than the Fourth Amendment.

Kansas v. Glover: U.S. Supreme Court Decides Kansas Case About Traffic Stops

Kansas v. Glover, 140 S.Ct. 1183 (2020). Issue:  When an officer learns the registered owner of a vehicle has a revoked driver’s license and initiates a traffic stop, is the inference that the registered owner is also the …

Police Officers Exceed Scope of Welfare Check

State v. Ellis, No. 120,046 (Kan. Ct. App. Nov. 15, 2019) Issue: Did a police officer exceed the scope of a permissible welfare check when he detained the person for whom the welfare check was called after he …

Searching for the Seriously Injured

Kansas v. Fisher, No. 120,031 (Kan. Ct. App. Nov. 8, 2019) Issue: The emergency aid exception to the Fourth Amendment’s bar on warrantless searches requires an objectively reasonable belief that someone injured is inside. Can officers comply with …

Evidence Found After Discovery of Outstanding Warrant During Welfare Stop is Inadmissible

State v. Manwarren, No. 119,520 (Kan. Ct. App. Apr. 12, 2019). Issue: Unconstitutionally-obtained evidence should be suppressed unless the connection between the evidence and the constitutional violation is too attenuated. Law enforcement officers encountered Richard Manwarren during a …

Publicly-Parked Car Not Seized After Arrest

State v. Parker, No. 112,959 (Kan. Dec. 7, 2018) Issue: Parker was arrested outside his locked car. His car sat in a public parking lot until a drug dog arrived to sniff the vehicle. Was his car unlawfully “seized” by the officers during this time?   …

Officers Cannot Search Containers of Already-Identified Drivers Involved in Accident Without a Warrant

State v. Evans, No. 119,458 (Kan. Nov. 21, 2018) Issue: The “community caretaking” exception to the warrant requirement allows officers to conduct limited warrantless searches. Evans, who had already identified herself to officers, was taken from the scene of a car …

Arrests on Outstanding Warrants Don’t Justify Searches of Bags Outside the Owner’s Control

State v. Ritchey, No. 118,905, (Kan. Ct. App. Nov. 2, 2018) Issue: Law enforcement may conduct a warrantless, though limited, “search incident to arrest” under the Fourth Amendment. Officers arrested Ritchey pursuant to an outstanding warrant. Could they …

Drivers May Have Apparent Authority to Consent to Search of Passenger’s Bag

State v. Bogges, No. 111,361 (Kan. Aug. 24, 2018) Issue: If a driver gives permission to search his car, a law enforcement officer can search bags in the car so long as it’s reasonable to believe the driver had authority …