Miguelina Pena, et al. v. City of Lancaster et al., No. CV 21-590, 2023 WL 5807005, at *1 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 7, 2023) - Following the fatal shooting of her son during a mental health episode where he was in possession of a...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued a new decision regarding the FOIA. In Kraft v. Chicago Police Department, the Court ruled in favor of the police department, finding it properly exempted records as unduly...more
SHOOTING DEATH OF AMIR LOCKE - Minnesota finds itself at the center of another controversial death at the hands of Minneapolis police following the shooting death of 22-year old Amir Locke. Using a no-knock warrant, police...more
Special Session Begins, Peacetime Emergency Continues The legislature began a special session on Monday, June 14, at noon. Special session was necessary for Governor Tim Walz to extend the state’s peacetime emergency due to...more
Marsy’s Law was approved by Florida voters in the 2018 general election and amended Article I, Section 16 of the Florida Constitution to provide substantive rights to crime victims. The Amendment provides crime victims the...more
In a divided opinion, the United States Supreme Court recently corrected the Tenth Circuit’s divergence from centuries old law defining what constitutes a seizure by law enforcement for the purposes of Fourth Amendment...more
In the first court ruling on Senate Bill 1421, a judge held that the new California law only applies prospectively, but still requires disclosure of pre-2019 police personnel records in response to Public Record Act requests...more
Local agencies in California will be required to provide increased access to peace and custodial officer personnel records with the passage of SB 1421, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown....more
Reversing a lower court, a California appellate court found that a newspaper could recover attorneys’ fees under the Private Attorney General Statute in a Public Records Act suit. The Second District Court of Appeal decision...more
In Pasadena Police Officers Association v. City of Pasadena, the Second District Court of Appeal made an interesting observation about the effect of the Public Records Act’s time requirement for a response to a PRA request...more
A California Court of Appeal upheld a decision to drastically reduce an attorney fee award request against the City of Pasadena to a newspaper in a Public Records Act litigation — a decision that should bring relief to public...more
• Illinois expanded the Police and Community Relations Improvement Act (PCRIA) to add special procedures for officers involved in incidents where their firearm is discharged causing injury or death to an individual. • New...more
This past week, the nation was shocked with yet another senseless act of violence in the workplace. On Monday, a disgruntled former employee, walked into his former employer’s job site and killed 5 of his former co-workers...more
The United States Supreme Court recently held that an officer’s use of deadly force by shooting an armed individual before issuing a verbal warning did not violate a clearly established Fourth Amendment right, and therefore,...more
A new Florida law governing the use of body cameras by law-enforcement agencies has gone into effect, requiring top brass to establish guidelines for the training of officers and use of the devices, as well as the retention...more
Harvey Slapstick, CEO of Jokes-R-Us, decided an April Fool’s prank on his employees was just what the company needed to boost morale. So he hired two former soldiers to conduct a fake hostage situation at the company’s...more
Attorney General Hopes Data Will Promote Transparency - California law enforcement agencies were given direction this week outlining new responsibilities under state law to report incidents involving shootings or any use...more