Boating Under the Influence and Probable Cause

Here's some good news out of Iowa: it appears that incidents involving people boating under the influence of alcohol are on the decline....

A Survey of State Laws Against Glue Sniffing and Driving Under the Influence of Glue

After writing yesterday's post on this story about a man arrested in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for allegedly driving while sniffing fumes fro...

Driving Under the Influence of Glue?

I like to check in on what's happening in my old home state of Iowa, and in doing so today I was drawn to this KCRG story on an (allege...

Fish, the Fourth Amendment, and the Scope of Consent

It's always a pleasant surprise to see legal disputes that involve fish for nonsensical reasons, particularly fish-related disputes that...

Marijuana, Federalism, and Guns

The Wall Street Journal reports : 28 states and Washington D.C., allow marijuana use in some form, including eight that allow recreational u...

No, It is Not Legal to Smoke Marijuana While Walking On the Sidewalk in Downtown Los Angeles

...or in any other California city or town for that matter. On November 8, California passed Proposition 64 (text of the Proposition here , ...

Forget Stop-and-Frisk: The Trump Supreme Court's True Threat to Fourth Amendment Protections

When discussing the Fourth Amendment under Trump's upcoming presidency, commentators tend to remain fixated on Trump's remarks in wh...

Charged With a Crime? Don't Accept Interview Requests

The Des Moines Register reports : A Des Moines woman has been arrested on suspicion of voting twice this month in the general election, poli...

Oakland's Resistance to Mass Surveillance: Would it Play Out the Same Way Today?

The BBC has this interesting article on an attempt by the City of Oakland, California to adopt a wide-ranging surveillance system, and the ...

Iowa's Law Against Simulated Intoxication

Back when I lived in Iowa City, the local police blotter was a reliable source of intrigue and occasional amusement. I would read it now and...

New Jersey's Distracted Driving Bill and Its Disturbing Implications for Probable Cause

USA Today reports : A bill under consideration in the state Legislature calls to prohibit "any activity unrelated to the actual operat...

California Lawsuits Allege That Suspension of Drivers' Licenses Violates Due Process

The Los Angeles Times reports : Civil rights lawyers filed suit Tuesday accusing the Los Angeles Superior Court of improperly suspending dri...

Legislating Via Pokemon Go

The New York Times reports on an awful innovative approach to policy making: Since its introduction this month, the app known as Pokémon Go...

Does California Need a Law Prohibiting Drones Near Wildfires?

Ars Technica reports : Firefighters working to contain a wildfire in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California were temporarily thwar...

Ninth Circuit: Double Negatives Don't Matter

In an opinion sure to shock the conscience of grammar enthusiasts around the nation, the Ninth Circuit ruled that a defendant's statemen...

Texas Judge: No Plea Bargains "Involving" Probation for More Crimes than You May Realize

The title of this post admittedly involves a bit of a paraphrasing, but not much. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has this post on a Texas...