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When Reliable Isn’t Enough: Why Nagle Was Suppressed and Long Wasn’t

Cases Compared: State v. Nagle , No. A23-0927 (Minn. Oct. 22, 2025) United States v. Long , No. 24-3377 (6th Cir. Oct. 17, 2025) TL;DR Holding (Nagle): Minnesota’s high court suppressed evidence from a home search based solely on an uncorroborated informant tip. Holding (Long): The Sixth Circuit upheld a home search based on a pattern of corroborated surveillance and drug activity. Importance: These two cases, decided just days apart, show the razor-thin line between pro

Nov 43 min read

When the Dog Crosses the Line: Texas Court Says K-9 Nose Inside Car = Search

In this week’s police training case brief, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals tackled a question straight out of the patrol car: What happens when a K-9’s nose crosses the window line? In State v. Organ (Oct. 30, 2025), the state’s highest criminal court ruled that when a drug-detection dog’s nose enters a vehicle during a free-air sniff, that action becomes a Fourth Amendment search — one that requires probable cause. The decision draws a sharp boundary for handlers and hig

Nov 14 min read

Kansas Supreme Court Rules Obscured State Name on License Plate Isn’t a Violation

A Common Stop Gets a Legal Reality Check If you’ve spent any time behind the wheel of a patrol car, you’ve probably noticed it — license plate frames that cover part of a plate’s border, sometimes even the state name. Maybe it’s a dealer frame, maybe it’s a sports team. Many officers have pulled over cars for that kind of obstruction, figuring it’s a technical violation under state plate-display laws. But in October 2025 , the Kansas Supreme Court handed down a ruling that s

Oct 194 min read