Can a Suspect Retreat Into His Home to End a Terry Stop?
Hayat v. Diaz, No. 25-1235 (4th Cir. Aug. 20, 2026) TL;DR Police received a priority kidnapping call after an eyewitness reported seeing a man put three children into the trunk of a vehicle. Officers traced the vehicle to Fareed Hayat's home and approached him while he and his wife were outside. The encounter initially was consensual. But after officers questioned Hayat about the reported kidnapping, he refused to answer certain questions, prevented his wife from continuing t
11 min read
You Can Film the Police Station — But That Doesn't End the Fourth Amendment Analysis
Massimino v. Benoit, No. 25-1104 (2d Cir. Aug. 17, 2026) TL;DR The Second Circuit held that the First Amendment protects the right to record law enforcement activity in public, including publicly visible areas of a police station from a public sidewalk. But that did not mean officers were prohibited from investigating the person doing the recording. Recording a police station, standing alone, was not enough to establish reasonable suspicion. Here, however, additional circumst
8 min read
Officers Don't Lose the Automobile Exception Just Because They Could Have Gotten a Warrant
United States v. Randle, No. 25-2278 (7th Cir. July 29, 2026) TL;DR The Seventh Circuit held that officers who had already developed probable cause through a controlled drug investigation were authorized to search a suspect's vehicle under the automobile exception—even though they had enough time beforehand to obtain a search warrant. The court also reaffirmed that a properly conducted traffic stop is not unlawfully prolonged when officers continue working on the traffic miss
4 min read