NCJ Number
138274
Journal
Crime to Court: Police Officer's Handbook Dated: (August 1992) complete issue
Date Published
1992
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This handbook addresses the concomitant limited rights and obligations of the police when they obtain a warrant to search the home of a citizen.
Abstract
The handbook outlines the action of the case Bills v. Aseltine (United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit), which involved local police officers, a State trooper, and private security officers; specifies the law of the case; identifies solutions to procedural problems; and provides a legal commentary. Lorraine I. Bills, the sole plaintiff, filed a civil rights lawsuit on August 28, 1989. Plaintiff sought to recover for alleged violation of her rights secured by the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The complaint also contained pendant State claims for trespass, negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violations of the Michigan constitution. The district court granted all defendants their motions for summary judgment. The Court of Appeals reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment on the issue of the constitutionality of the search because genuine issues of material fact exist about the reasonableness of the conduct of the police in inviting a private citizen into the dwelling of another for purpose unrelated to the execution of the search warrant.