Resource Center
The Resource Center is designed to provide practical, accessible information on constitutional law, criminal procedure, law enforcement practices, and related legal topics. These materials are intended to help individuals, attorneys, law enforcement professionals, public safety agencies, and students better understand complex legal issues through clear explanations, case analysis, and real-world application.
Topics range from search warrants, traffic stops, and vehicle searches to digital privacy, interrogations, regulatory enforcement, and constitutional litigation. New articles and resources will be added regularly as legal developments occur and common questions arise.
- What is a Search?
- What is a Seizure?
- Reasonable Expectation of Privacy
- Trespass Doctrine
- “Standing” to Challenge a Search
- The Exclusionary Rule
- Good Faith Exception
- Search Warrants in General
- Exceptions to the Search Warrant Requirement
- What Is Probable Cause?
- How Search Warrants Are Obtained
- Search Warrant Affidavits
- Challenging a Search Warrant
- Franks Hearings
- Particularity Requirement
- Execution of Search Warrants
- No-Knock Warrants
- Terry Stops
- Stop and Identify Laws
- Reasonable Suspicion Standard
- Protective Pat Downs and Frisks
- Investigative Detentions of Persons & Vehicles
- A Critical Distinction: Arrest v. Detention
- Scope of Detentions: The Blurry Line of “De Facto Arrest”
- Arrest Warrants
- Warrantless Arrests
- Public vs. Home Arrests
- Arrest in the Home of a Third-Party
- Steagald v. United States
- Search Incident to Arrest
- Use of Force During Arrest
- When Can Police Stop a Vehicle?
- Reasonable Suspicion vs. Probable Cause
- Duration of a Traffic Stop
- Rodriguez and Prolonged Stops
- Passenger Rights During Stops
- Civil Infractions
- Stop for Civil Infraction vs. Terry Stop Related to Suspicion of Criminal Activity
- Complaint & Summons v. Information & Summons
- Automobile Exception: The Carroll Doctrine
- Search Incident to Lawful Arrest of Occupant or Recent Occupant
- Inventory Searches
- Vehicle Impoundment Issues
- Containers Inside Vehicles
- Automobile Exception: The Curious Cases of Cars that Turn Up Containers v. Containers that Turn Up in Cars
- Protective Sweeps of Vehicles
- Are Dog Sniffs Searches?
- Dog Sniffs Conducted During Traffic Stops
- Illinois v. Caballes & Rodriguez v. United States
- Reliability of Canine Sniffs
- Do Positive Canine Alerts Establish Probable Cause?
- Dog Sniffs within the Curtilage of the Home
- Entry into a Home
- Curtilage vs. Open Fields
- Knock and Talk Encounters
- Exigent Circumstances
- Protective Sweeps
- Consent Searches of Homes
- Canine Sniffs within the Curtilage
- What Makes Consent Valid?
- Is consent a “waiver” of Fourth Amendment rights?
- Scope of Consent
- Third-Party Consent
- Withdrawal of Consent
- Common Consent Issues
- Georgia v. Randolph
- Can the police search the contents on my cell phone?
- Can the police access and search contents in my “cloud” accounts?
- Riley v. California & Smith v. Maryland
- Location Data (cell-site location information & GPS)
- GPS Tracking of Vehicles
- Evidence from Social Media Accounts/Profiles
- Geofence Search Warrants
- “Definition” of Reasonable Suspicion
- “Definition” of Probable Cause
- Analysis of Standards: Probable Cause vs. Reasonable Suspicion
- Informant Information
- Anonymous Tips
- Totality of Circumstances
- Illinois v. Gates
- Preponderance of the Evidence
- Clear and Convincing Evidence
- Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
- Miranda Warnings
- Custodial Interrogation
- Invocation of Rights
- Waiver of Rights
- Exceptions: Public Safety, Booking, and Impeachment
- United States v. Patane: Limitations on the “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree” Doctrine
- Indiana’s Misdemeanor “Witness” Rule
- Civil Infraction Legal System: Standard for Issuance of Complaint v. Detention of Offender
- Commercial or Residential: The Difference Between Class 1 and Class 2 Structures in Indiana
- Civil Traffic Enforcement: Should sworn law enforcement officers enforce traffic safety law?
- The Decentralized Execution of Law Enforcement: A Completely Broken Model & System
- Police Merit Commissions: Varsity Booster Clubs or True Accountability?