The Stop Behind the Stop: Eighth Circuit Upholds Narcotics Investigation Built Around a Pretext Traffic Stop
United States v. Drayton, No. 24-2519 (8th Cir. July 13, 2026) TL;DR Police investigating a suspected methamphetamine trafficker watched him engage in what appeared to be multiple drug transactions throughout the day. Later, officers saw another person place a bag into his vehicle. An officer involved in the surveillance followed the suspect onto the interstate, observed him hit the fog line three times, and initiated a traffic stop. While the stopping officer was still proce
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When a “Voluntary Encounter” Becomes a Seizure: 4th Cir. Suppresses Gun After Officers Blocked Parked Car
United States v. Williams, No. 24-4512 (4th Cir. July 7, 2026) TL;DR Police received an anonymous 911 report that a light-skinned male with braids was sitting in a white Mercedes near an apartment-complex pool and “appears to be making drug transactions.” Two officers responded in separate marked police vehicles. The officers intended to make a voluntary encounter. But instead of parking in available spaces, they simultaneously stopped their patrol vehicles in the roadway, wi
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Words Are Not Resistance: Sixth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity for Force Following Verbal Confrontation
Steger v. Willis, No. 25-6006 (6th Cir. July 21, 2026) TL;DR Police responded to a theft complaint and encountered the suspect standing behind an iron gate on his own front porch. The encounter became heated. The suspect refused to provide identification, told officers to get off his property, and ultimately yelled, “Fuck you!” at one of the officers. According to the plaintiff’s version of events—which the court was required to accept at the qualified-immunity stage—the offi
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