Law Enforcement

The Fight To Ban Facial Recognition Technology In Connection With Body Cams

Facial recognition technology has been around since the 1960s, and it is the current focus of California Assembly Member Phil Ting’s proposed assembly bill – The Body Camera Accountability Act (AB 1215). AB 1215, if enacted, would prohibit law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition technology in connection with a body camera. While civil rights…

Burke Helps Secure Ninth Circuit Victory for State Medical Officials in Inmate Valley Fever Case

Summary On February 1, 2019, in Hines v. Youseff, #15-16145, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 3312 (9th Cir.), the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of lawsuits brought by hundreds of inmates claiming they were unlawfully exposed to Valley Fever, a disease caused by inhaling certain fungal spores that are endemic to much of the Southwestern United…

Court of Appeal Clarifies POBRA Statute of Limitations, Clearing Way for Disciplinary Proceedings in Racist Texting Case

On June 22, 2017, the California Court of Appeal published a decision in Rain Daugherty v. City and County of San Francisco, denying nine officers’ claim that the disciplinary notices that were issued against them were untimely and in violation of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBRA).[1] The Court of Appeal…

A School Yard Lesson on the Fourth Amendment and Qualified Immunity

On September 10, 2018, in Scott v. County of San Bernardino, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to a police officer who arrested a group of middle school girls accused of fighting and bullying to “prove a point” and to “teach them a lesson.” The Court held that because…

No Longer Confidential: An Advanced Look at SB 1421

Commencing January 1, 2019, California law regarding the confidentiality of certain police records will undergo a significant change. Records of officer-involved shootings and certain uses of force will become accessible to the general public, as will records relating to sustained findings of dishonesty or sexual assault by a police officer. Earlier this month, we presented…

The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth Regarding Witness Immunity for Peace Officers

The United States has long upheld the concept of the witness immunity, which protects witnesses who testify at legal proceedings from civil lawsuits. The public policy rationale behind this doctrine is that witnesses should feel that they can testify truthfully without fear or intimidation of being sued in a retaliatory civil action. In Briscoe v….

Legislating Law Enforcement

Typically law enforcement agencies, with the help of their respective governing City/County/State entity, create their own policies and procedures in procedures in conformity with the Penal Code, case law, and POST guidelines. This year, numerous bills have been proposed in the California Legislature to impose new requirements on peace officers. While some of these proposals…

Is Your Anti-Camping Ordinance Legal?

In 2017, California had approximately 134,278 homeless individuals and 68.2% of this population was unsheltered. In response to the influx of individuals sleeping on public property, many cities created ordinances prohibiting people from camping in public spaces (anti-camping laws) and these ordinances allowed law enforcement to issue citations to homeless people for sleeping on public…

Putting the Rap in RAP Sheet: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Threatening Lyrics Against Police Are Not Protected by First Amendment

In Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Jamal Knox, Pennsylvania’s highest court upheld a rapper’s criminal conviction and ruled that his rap song that identified Pittsburgh police officers by name and made direct threats of violence against them is not protected speech under the First Amendment. This ruling highlighted that other courts, such as the Ninth Circuit,…