All the DHS wanted was a warrantless “peek” at the contents of a seized iPhone. The phone, one of three seized from a person suspected of drug trafficking, was examined by the DHS, with the warrant arriving a month later. Now, all of the evidence obtained from the phone is being tossed out.
In the order granting the suppression of evidence obtained from the phone, Judge Sterling Johnson points out that the government revised its story several times during oral testimony.
DHS Special Agent Thomas Wilburt worked with the CBP to detain the suspect, Adamou Djibo, at the JFK Airport. Djibo’s iPhone was taken and examined by Wilburt, who couldn’t seem to accurately recall the details of the examination.
Category: Police
Nineteen-Hour ‘Standoff’ Ends With Law Enforcement Officers Destroying An Empty House | Techdirt
A SWAT truck with a battering ram attached was used to poke holes and tear apart the house in an attempt to drive the nonexistent suspect out. As deputies became unable to find him, they began taking their frustration out on couches, beds, lamps, clothing, toys, and even the family’s Christmas tree was ripped through a window and smashed to bits.
The entire time, Nita Lane, the homeowner, was trying to tell the cops that Alexius was not there and does not live there.
The sheriff, quite expectedly, remains unapologetic. Despite being told by the victim that Alexius was not in her house, [Sheriff David] Groves maintains that his officers acted in the best possible manner.
Source: Nineteen-Hour ‘Standoff’ Ends With Law Enforcement Officers Destroying An Empty House | Techdirt
Appeals Court Sees Nothing Wrong With The ATF Busting People For Thinking About Robbing Fake Stash Houses | Techdirt
In these stash-house cases, the Government’s “participation in the offense conduct” is what makes them particularly repugnant to the Constitution. Everything about the scheme—and therefore almost everything bearing upon a defendant’s ultimate sentence—hinges solely on the Government’s whim. Why were there not 10 kilograms in the stash house? Or 100? Or 1,000? Why were the guards allegedly armed—necessitating that Defendants bring weapons along with them? All of these factors came down to the ATF and the undercover agent alone. That sort of arbitrariness offends the Constitution’s due-process demands.
Appeals Court Issues Fantastic 1st Amendment Ruling Against Censorious Sheriff Thomas Dart In His Crusade Against The Internet | Techdirt
Taser and the Myth of Non-Lethal Weaponry
Taser claims its products are safe. But if that’s true, wonders a new documentary, why do people keep dying?
FBI’s flawed forensics expert testimony: Hair analysis, bite marks, fingerprints, arson.
The Washington Post published a story so horrifying this weekend that it would stop your breath: “The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000.”
Source: FBI’s flawed forensics expert testimony: Hair analysis, bite marks, fingerprints, arson.
Judge tried to bribe FBI agent with beer to get family’s text messages | Ars Technica
Indictment alleges judge offered “a couple of cases of beer” as payment.
Source: Judge tried to bribe FBI agent with beer to get family’s text messages | Ars Technica
When Black Lives Didn’t Matter in New Orleans
Ten years ago today, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, police gunned down two black families on Danziger Bridge. A new book by Ronnie Greene tells their story.
Spanish Police Park In Handicapped Spot, Fine Person Who Caught Them For ‘Impugning Their Honor’ | Techdirt
A Spanish woman has been fined €800 (£570) under the country’s controversial new gagging law for posting a photograph of a police car parked illegally in a disabled bay.
The unnamed woman, a resident of Petrer in Alicante, south-east Spain, posted the photo on her Facebook page with the comment “Park where you bloody well please and you won’t even be fined”.
The police tracked her down within 48 hours and fined her.
