Category: Constitutional Law

On August 3rd and 4th, I was in Orlando attending another excellent Force Science® class. In December 2015, I attended the five day Force Science® certification course. It was a tremendous training opportunity filled with…

Despite all the jokes, attorneys are governed by a lot of rules. There are pages of ethics rules, guidelines, and aspirational goals intended to guide the daily work of my profession. One of those standards…

Just about every law enforcement agency has a social media policy. I have litigated many disciplinary actions involving them and with few exceptions, there’s not a dime’s difference between any of them. They seem to…

On January 11, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued an important opinion for LEOs regarding the use of TASER® devices and other conducted energy weapons. The case involved an…

“We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately,” said Benjamin Franklin when he signed the Declaration of Independence. Even meeting to discuss the ideals expressed in the document, constituted a…

On May 18, 2015, the United States Supreme Court (USSC) issued the long-awaited opinion in the case of the City of San Francisco v. Sheehan. The case involves the shooting death of a mentally ill…

On Wednesday, March 11, 2015, two LEOs were shot while working near an apparent peaceful protect following the resignation of Ferguson Missouri Police Chief Tom Jackson. Moments later, while these LEOs are bleeding on the…

As typically happens, the media inquiry and focus in the OIS in Missouri is starting to move toward the legal analysis of the use of deadly force. I’ve seen this progression in dozens of OIS…

After many years of discussion, debates, hearings, and public input, Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 60, The Safe Carry Protection Act. As predicted, many in the media and gun control advocates have gone, well,…

Since June 2013, I’ve probably done over 50 interviews discussing Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws. It never ceases to amaze me how the concept, and often the plain language of the statutes, are distorted. I…