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This week, we got two new laws on Marijuana at the last minute, going into effect July 1, 2022, as well as a surprising new case suppressing a searches based on Marijuana possession. Today, we discuss both.

In the last few weeks, the Court of Appeals has suppressed two consent searches in rulings that you may find surprising. Today we examine those rulings.

In a traffic stop (or any detention), the 4th Amendment sets strict limits on how long you can detain a person. Today, we talk about two new cases from January, 2022 on how long police can detain a person during a traffic stop.

This week is Part II of our "New Laws" for 2022 series. We talk about bills regarding ECOs & TDOs, Marcus Alerts, Financial Exploitation, Law Enforcement Firearms, Retired Law Enforcement Officers, and Facial Recognition Technology.

The General Assembly has passed and the Governor has signed several new laws that we discuss today: Changes to FOIA, Search Warrants, Arrest/Summons Quotas, Catalytic Converter Thefts, and Venue for certain crimes,

This legislative session, the General Assembly declined to "re-enact" Marijuana legalization - what does that mean for the marijuana law in Virginia now? We dive into the details today.

In the last couple of weeks, a US District Court and a Fairfax Circuit Court issued rulings on so-called "geofence" warrants directed to Google, seeking Google location data. This week, we review those rulings in detail.

Today, we talk about a new case from the 4th Circuit, U.S. v. Buster, that says that officers could not pat down a bag strapped to the chest of a suspect in a recent shooting. What does this case really mean?

Financial exploitation cases by caretakers are challenging to investigate and prove, but today we talk about 2 recent Court of Appeals cases that are useful to hold perpetrators accountable.

In Part Two of our series, we talk about the crime of Conspiracy in Virginia - how do you prove it, and why you would want to. We also talk about 2 new cases regarding Conspiracy from Virginia courts.

Under Virginia law, what makes someone guilty of "conspiracy"? What makes someone guilty as an accessory, or an "aider and abettor"? In this two-part series, we examine the fundamentals of Virginia law regarding accessories to crimes and the law of conspiracy. This episode is Part One, where we address the law of accessories and principals.

This week, a new case from the Court of Appeals examines what law enforcement can lawfully do when approaching a home - both in the "curtilage" and in an "open field" under the Fourth Amendment.

This week, we talk about two new cases from the Virginia Courts on Emergencies in the home - overdoses and suicide attempts - and what the 4th Amendment says that law enforcement may do to assist people in danger.

Last week, the US Supreme Court handed down two new rulings on police use of force - one deadly, one non-deadly. While the Court relied on Qualified Immunity, the cases tell us something about how lower courts have been judging use of force by police, even in very dangerous situations.

This week, we talk about a new case from the Court of Appeals regarding a man who had just assaulted his girlfriend with a gun - the Court of Appeals says it was not an exigent circumstance, and we will talk about why.

We use the word "hearsay" all the time, but what does that really mean? Today, in light of a recent case, we examine the idea of hearsay and what makes something hearsay or not in a criminal trial.

Today, in Part 2 of our series on obtaining financial records, we talk about the Federal tools for law enforcement to obtain financial records in fraud, violent crimes, and other investigations.

The law regarding obtaining financial records for law enforcement in Virginia can be confusing. Today we talk about the Virginia legal tools for law enforcement to obtain financial records in fraud, violent crimes, and other investigations.

We have often reviewed the law about use of force against citizens - but what are the rules for use of force against inmates? The rules for pretrial detainees & inmates serving sentences are very different, and today we talk about how the rules are different.

This week, the 4th Circuit decided a case involving a police stop of a young man with a rifle. We talk about how to deal with cases where someone is openly carrying a firearm - which is lawful - but you believe they may have unlawful intentions.