Arrest, Search and Seizure: Law Enforcement Best Practices (Perez)

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND AGENDA (CLICK HERE)

This course provides law enforcement officers with a comprehensive review of constitutional principles, legal standards, and investigative best practices governing arrests, searches, and seizures. Instruction will emphasize proper legal articulation, search warrant preparation and execution, digital evidence, investigative techniques, and current legal considerations. Officers will examine common mistakes that lead to evidence suppression and civil liability, with an emphasis on conducting lawful, effective, and defensible investigations.

I. Constitutional Foundations and Legal Standards
1. Fourth Amendment protections
2. Reasonable suspicion versus probable cause
3. Totality of the circumstances
4. Articulation of facts and circumstances
5. Consensual encounters, investigative detentions, and arrests
6. Terry v. Ohio and investigative stops
7. Fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine

II. Investigative Detentions and Warrantless Searches
1. Consent searches
2. Revoking consent
3. Traffic stops and vehicle detentions
4. Duration and extension of traffic stops
5. Plain-view doctrine
6. Protective sweeps
7. Homes, curtilage, and warrantless entry
8. Exceptions to the search warrant requirement

III. Search Warrants: Preparation and Execution
1. Establishing probable cause
2. Establishing nexus between criminal activity, evidence, and location
3. Search warrant affidavit preparation
4. Avoiding boilerplate language
5. Particularity and scope of search warrants
6. Reviewing search warrant language for accuracy
7. Supervisory review
8. Occupant control and officer safety
9. Common search warrant deficiencies

IV. Digital Evidence and Electronic Search Warrants
1. Cell phone seizures versus cell phone searches
2. Digital nexus articulation
3. Cell phone and electronic device search warrants
4. Avoiding overbroad requests for "all data"
5. Articulating connections between digital evidence and criminal activity
6. Social media search warrants
7. Nondisclosure orders
8. Vehicle infotainment systems and stored electronic data
9. Common digital search warrant mistakes

V. Investigative Sources and Evidence Integrity
1. Confidential informants and investigative reliability
2. Corroboration of informant information

VI. Courtroom Testimony, Ethics, and Legal Updates
1. Courtroom testimony and preparation
2. Effective articulation of reasonable suspicion and probable cause
3. Documenting investigative actions
4. Ethical conduct and professional responsibilities
5. Suppression of evidence and common constitutional violations
6. Best practices for reducing legal challenges

VII. Course Review and Practical Application
1. Discussion of investigative scenarios
2. Identification of common constitutional mistakes
3. Questions and answers