December 16, 2021
CPOA Case Summaries – November 2021
Courtesy of James R. Touchstone, Esq. CPOA CASE SUMMARIES – NOVEMBER 2021 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW/POLICE CONDUCT A. Plaintiff raising his hands in the air and questioning why he was being …
December 16, 2021
California Statute Prohibiting Possession of Large-Capacity Magazines is a Reasonable Fit for the Important Government Interest of Reducing Gun Violence
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In Duncan v. Bonta,[1] the en banc Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a California statute which banned possession of magazines holding more …
December 16, 2021
A Plaintiff Failed to Plausibly Allege That an Officer Violated a Detainee’s Constitutional Right to Adequate Medical Treatment
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In J. K. J. v. City of San Diego,[1] the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a dismissal of an action alleging constitutional violations …
Read More » November 12, 2021
Statutory Change Broadening Requirement to Release of Peace Officer Records
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq On September 30, 2021, Senate Bill 16 (“SB 16”) was signed and chaptered into law and will take effect on January 1, 2022. This …
Read More » November 12, 2021
A Police Chief was not Entitled to Qualified Immunity when an Officer Asserted that she had been Retaliated Against For Filing Sex-Discrimination Lawsuit
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In the case of Ballou v. McElvain,[1] the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to a police chief on …
Read More » November 12, 2021
California Assembly Bill 32 Impedes Federal Immigration Policy
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In October 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in GEO Grp., Inc. v. Newsom,[1] reversed a District Court’s order denying the United States’ …
Read More » November 12, 2021
Supreme Court Concludes that Police Officers did not Violate any Clearly Established Law and were thus Entitled to Qualified Immunity
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In October 2021, the United States Supreme Court, in its per curiam decision City of Tahlequah v. Bond,[1] concluded that a Circuit Court of …
Read More » November 12, 2021
Supreme Court Reverses Ninth Circuit’s Decision to Deny Officer Qualified Immunity
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In the case Rivas-Villegas v. Cortesluna,[1] the United States Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision denying qualified immunity to a …
Read More » November 12, 2021
Because of Plaintiff Necessarily Admitted to the Lawfulness of an Officer’s Actions in his Guilty Plea, his Excessive Force Claim was Barred
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In Sanders v. City of Pittsburg,[1] the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a complaint brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. section …
Read More » November 12, 2021
After Passage of Proposition 64, Possession of Cannabis in Prison Remains a Violation of Penal Code Section 4573.6
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In People v. Raybon,[1] the California Supreme Court concluded that possession of cannabis in prison remains a violation of Penal Code section 4573.6, even …
Read More » November 12, 2021
Government Entitled to Qualified Immunity in Plaintiff’s Action Alleging that Government Employer Violated his First Amendment Rights
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq In Ohlson v. Brady,[1] the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that public agency defendants were entitled to qualified immunity in an employee’s action …
Read More » November 12, 2021
Statutory Change to Law Enforcement use of Social Media
Provided by James R. Touchstone Esq, Richard A. Lucero Esq On July 23, 2021, AB1475 was signed and chaptered into law, and will take effect on January 1, 2022. The …
Read More » November 12, 2021
District Court Properly Dismissed Section 1983 Excessive Force Claim After Criminal Jury Convicted Plaintiff of Violating Penal Code Section 148
Provided by James R. Touchstone In a 2-1 opinion, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Lemos v. Cty. of Sonoma,[1] affirmed a District Court’s holding that a 42 U.S.C. …
Read More » November 12, 2021
Update: Executive Decisions and the COVID-19 Vaccines
Provided by James R. Touchstone, Esq. Richard A. Lucero, Esq. The persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the transmissibility associated with the Delta variant, and differing beliefs about personal autonomy and …
Read More » November 12, 2021
CPOA Case Summaries – October 2021
Courtesy of James R. Touchstone, Esq. CPOA CASE SUMMARIES – OCTOBER 2021 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW/POLICE CONDUCT Even assuming a police officer testified falsely during administrative proceedings, there was no …
Read More » November 12, 2021
CPOA Case Summaries – September 2021
Courtesy of James R. Touchstone, Esq. CPOA CASE SUMMARIES – SEPTEMBER 2021 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW/POLICE CONDUCT A. Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the destruction of …
Read More » September 30, 2021
Governor Signs Package of Public Safety Reform Measures
By: Shaun Rundle, CPOA Deputy Director. In Gardena, home district of Senator Steven Bradford, Governor Newsom signed a package of public safety bills that CPOA has lobbied all year. They …
Read More » September 27, 2021
CPOA Case Summaries – August 2021
Courtesy of James R. Touchstone, Esq. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW/POLICE CONDUCT A. CDCR officials who adopted regulations that were later voided entitled to legislative immunity. Jones v. Allison, 2021 U.S. App. …
Read More » August 9, 2021
CPOA Case Summaries – July 2021
Courtesy of James R. Touchstone, Esq. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW/POLICE CONDUCT A. Killgore decision re massage establishments and closely regulated inspections. Killgore v. City of S. El Monte, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS …
Read More » July 27, 2021
Kilgore Decision RE Massage Establishments and Closely Regulated Inspections
Provided by Gregory P. Palmer, Esq., James R. Touchstone, Esq., & Veronica R. Donovan, Esq. Background The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has recently reaffirmed a decades old California state …
Read More » July 23, 2021
CPOA Case Summaries – June 2021
Courtesy of James R. Touchstone, Esq. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW/POLICE CONDUCT A. The Supreme Court clarifies the extent of authority of Indian tribal peace officers on public rights-of-way on reservation land. United …
Read More » July 15, 2021
Ninth Circuit Stays District Court Ruling Holding that California Assault Weapons Laws are Unconstitutional
Provided by James R. Touchstone, Esq. In the June 2021 case of Miller v. Bonta,[1] the United States District Court for the Southern District of California held that California statutes …
Read More » July 14, 2021
Under the Fourth Amendment, Pursuit of a Fleeing Misdemeanor Suspect does not always Justify a Warrantless Entry into a Home
Provided by James R. Touchstone, Esq. In Lange v. California,[1] the United States Supreme Court held that an officer’s pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect does not categorically justify a …
Read More » July 14, 2021
Qualified Immunity Bill Gets Amended, As Does Cop Minimum Age
By: Shaun Rundle, CPOA Deputy Director. Two of the bills that CPOA’s Law & Legislation Committee felt to be of the biggest-impact for 2021, are SB 2 (Bradford-D) and AB …
Read More » June 16, 2021
CPOA Case Summaries – May 2021
Courtesy of James R. Touchstone, Esq. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW/POLICE CONDUCT A. Persistent odor of unspecified smoke did not allow for warrantless search of cabinet within shed in backyard under exigent circumstances …
Read More » June 14, 2021
Few Public Safety Bills Remain Unchanged as Year Progresses
By: Shaun Rundle, CPOA Deputy Director. As a result of our lobbying work during the many legislative deadlines that occur in May and June in the Legislature, most public safety …
Read More » May 25, 2021
Detectives Were Entitled to Qualified Immunity Because it Was Not Clearly Established That Their Interrogation Tactics Shocked the Conscience
Provided by James R. Touchstone, Esq. In Tobias v. Arteaga,[1] the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the denial of qualified immunity for officers with regards to a plaintiff’s Fourteenth …
Read More » May 25, 2021
Supreme Court Rejects Broad Application Extending Community Caretaking Exception to Warrantless Searches and Seizures in Home in Certain Circumstances
Provided by James R. Touchstone, Esq. In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the United States Supreme Court in Caniglia v. Strom[1] rejected a lower court’s broad interpretation of the “community caretaking …
Read More » May 25, 2021
Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Section 3303(G) does not Require Automatic Disclosure of Reports and Complaints Prior to any Further Interrogation of an Officer Under Investigation
Provided by James R. Touchstone, Esq. In Oakland Police Officers’ Ass’n v. City of Oakland,[1] the California First District Court of Appeal concluded that the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill …
Read More » May 18, 2021
CPOA Case Summaries – April 2021
Courtesy of James R. Touchstone, Esq. QUALIFIED IMMUNITY Detectives were entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established that their interrogation tactics ‘shocked the conscience’ when used over …
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