Early yesterday morning a player for the Minnesota Vikings, Benny Sapp, was cited for Misdemeanor 5th Degree Assault and Careless Driving in Minneapolis. Mr. Sapp allegedly was engaged in two confrontations with security officers at the Minneapolis Children’s Hospital. The first confrontation is alleged to have occurred when Mr. Sapp attempted to access a building …
Continue reading "Even Simple Confrontations Can Be an Assault"Monthly Archives: December 2011
Watch Out – Police Increase Patrols and Arrests for DWI
Be careful this holiday weekend. Roughly 400 Minnesota law enforcement agencies are conducting increased DWI patrols during the month of December. In the first 11 days of this month, with less than half of the participating agencies reporting, there were over 800 arrests for DWI reported in Minnesota. On average there are over 30,000 arrests …
Continue reading "Watch Out – Police Increase Patrols and Arrests for DWI"The Police Need Probable Cause to Stop You
In my last blog post I discussed a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision dealing with what police conduct constitutes a stop or seizure. The Court of Appeals in that case did not discuss what probable cause is required for the police to stop or detain you. The courts have dealt with the issue of …
Continue reading "The Police Need Probable Cause to Stop You"The Fourth Amendment Still Has Meaning
There is hope that the 4th Amendment still has meaning. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled recently in the matter of the State of Minnesota vs. Michael Anthony Clark that a seizure has not occurred by a police officer when the officer activates and shines its spotlight on a person without any other show of …
Continue reading "The Fourth Amendment Still Has Meaning"