Since it is a world cup year we have decided to shift our focus from the law to something more important: Association Football (or soccer). We are going to provide discussion and analysis regarding the most exciting games during the World Cup. First up, Brazil vs....
Year: 2014
Can Your Smart Phone be Searched Without a Warrant?
The law evolves along with technology. For example, early strict liability law concerned non-domestic or exotic animals: an owner of a lion, bear, or other wild beast would be strictly liable for damage caused by such an animal regardless of degree of care exercised...
Navarette v. California: Anonymous Claims Sufficient for DUI Stop
In Navarette, the United States Supreme Court recently held that an anonymous informant’s tip that a certain truck “ran her off the road” was sufficient to provide reasonable suspicion of DUI to support a traffic stop. The opinion is problematic as it will have far...
The Future Of Our “Rights”: Punishment For Exercising The Right To Withhold Consent From Warrantless Searches?
A Minnesota appellate court recently appears to have claimed that the state may criminalize a person’s refusal to consent to a warrantless search if the officer could have hypothetically obtained a warrant. You can read the opinion here. This is dangerous. It has long...
Domestic Violence and the Home in Washington State (PART 2)
In part 1, we discussed what is required for law enforcement to make a warrantless entry into the home. The state must prove each of the following elements of the emergency aid exception to the warrant requirement: The police officer subjectively believed that...
Domestic Violence and the Home in Washington State
The law has recognized that “every man’s home is his castle.” This does not mean that a homeowner can do whatever he or she pleases or engage in abuse. For example, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens has recently seen that he is not above the law. But it is true that...
Richard Sherman Is The Best In The League and Western Washington Is The Best In the Country
I hope everyone saw Richard Sherman on CNN the other night. If you did you saw an exemplary human being speaking openly with great insight. And, he plays a mean corner. Before the interview, I assured my wife that he would come through. It wasn’t just that I’d seen...
Part 3: Conservatives Should Support Fed Legalization of Pot In Washington State
In part 1, we discussed the original understanding of the Federal commerce power and its erosion. In part 2, the gross, substantial expansion of the Federal Government’s power that occurred in the twentieth century was discussed. Now, we’ll cover the relationship of...
Part 2: Conservatives Should Support Fed Legalization Of Pot In Washington State
In Part 1, we talked about the original understanding of the Federal commerce power and how it has been eroded. The gross, substantial expansion of the Federal Government’s power that occurred in the twentieth century is discussed below. Up until about the 1930’s the...
Part 1: Why Conservatives Should Support Fed Legalization Of Pot In Washington State
Conservatives champion small federal government limited to the express functions set forth in the constitution (i.e. enumerated powers), state sovereignty, federalism, separation of powers, laissez faire economics, and limited regulation. Yet some conservative pundits...