Apr 21, 2023 | DUI, Fourth Amendment
Did you know that, unlike the federal Bill of Rights, the South Carolina Constitution has an explicit right to privacy? Our constitutional right to privacy has been cited by the SC Supreme Court as providing greater protections than the Fourth Amendment in the...
Jul 22, 2021 | Criminal Defense, Fourth Amendment
Do police need an arrest warrant before arresting someone in SC? If you are handcuffed, taken to jail, fingerprinted, and charged with a crime, don’t police need an arrest warrant to show that a judge found probable cause and so you know exactly what you are charged...
Jan 19, 2021 | Fourth Amendment
When do police have probable cause to search a cell phone? In 2014, the US Supreme Court announced that a warrant is required to search a cell phone – police cannot seize your phone and search it “incident to arrest.” Then, the SC Supreme Court said, “So what?” in...
Feb 24, 2020 | Fourth Amendment
When do police need a warrant to search a cell phone? Of course, the answer depends on the circumstances – the many exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s search warrant requirement apply to cell phones just as they apply to homes and pockets… In 2014, the United States...
Feb 10, 2020 | Criminal Defense, DUI, Fourth Amendment
Do police need to get a warrant before they draw blood in a DUI case? What if police ask for consent for a blood test and you say no? Can they hold you down and forcibly puncture your arm with a needle to take your blood? Over 50 years ago, the US Supreme Court said...
Feb 10, 2020 | Drug Charges, Fourth Amendment, Police and Prosecutorial Misconduct
The ACLU of Kansas filed a class action lawsuit last month against the Kansas Highway Patrol, accusing them of a practice of intentionally and unconstitutionally prolonging traffic stops using what they call the “Kansas Two-Step” and other tactics to detain motorists...
