VoteKansas.org

ABOARD MS BALMORAL (AP) -- In the birthplace of the Titanic, residents will gather for a choral requiem. In the North Atlantic, above the ship's final resting place, passengers will pray as a band strikes up a hymn and three floral wreaths are cast onto the waves....

GREENLAND, N.H. (AP) -- The woman who died during a standoff in New Hampshire that also killed a police chief has been identified as a 26-year-old cosmetologist who had dated the gunman....

NEW YORK (AP) -- The art critic was scathing in his review of a painting depicting a sunrise over water. "A preliminary drawing for a wallpaper pattern is more highly finished than this seascape," scoffed Louis Leroy....

Forecasters say to expect "life-threatening" storms throughout the Midwest starting Saturday afternoon, in a path ranging from Minnesota to Texas. Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma are projected to receive the brunt of the damage, which could include thunderstorms, tornadoes and hail....

Forecasters say to expect "life-threatening" storms throughout the Midwest starting Saturday afternoon, in a path ranging from Minnesota to Texas. Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma are projected to receive the brunt of the damage, which could include thunderstorms, tornadoes and hail....

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) -- President Barack Obama's challenge during a weekend summit in Colombia with business executives and political leaders from the Americas is convincing U.S. business that he's serious about expanding trade in Latin America and persuading the region to look northward once again....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says the nation can't afford to keep giving tax cuts to the wealthiest, "who don't need them and didn't even ask for them."...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Tornado sirens sounded across Oklahoma City early Saturday as the nation's midsection braced for what forecasters cautioned could be a day of "life-threatening" storms, with the most dangerous weather expected to develop in the afternoon....

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) -- Alleged misconduct by a dozen Secret Service agents sent to provide security for President Barack Obama in Colombia threatened to overshadow his diplomatic mission to Latin America....

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) -- President Barack Obama's challenge during a weekend summit in Colombia with business executives and political leaders from the Americas is convincing U.S. business that he's serious about expanding trade in Latin America and persuading the region to look northward once again....

The government argued exigency justified the initial entry into the hotel room, and the later issued search warrant was valid. The court finds that it does not even need to decide exigency because the warrant was clearly valid. Also, several defendants had no standing in the hotel room. United States v. Johnson, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51482 (E.D. Mich. April 12, 2012):

The Government argues that exigent circumstances—specifically, concern that individuals inside the hotel room would destroy evidence of criminality—justified the fast and warrantless entry into the room. To launch an inquiry designed to definitively determine the constitutionality of such an entry is to invite a journey into discrete factual findings and a weighing and balancing of societal and law enforcement interests. In some cases that journey will be mandatory, or at least advisable. Here, it is neither. The court may avoid determining whether the initial entry into the hotel room was justified by exigent circumstances and simply assume that it was not, because suppression of the evidence discovered during the execution of the search warrant is not required where the warrant was valid and supported by probable cause.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says the nation can't afford to keep giving tax cuts to the wealthiest, "who don't need them and didn't even ask for them."...

Defendant had no standing to contest seizure of his girlfriend’s cell phone records. State v. Young, 2012 Ohio 1669, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1456 (6th Dist. April 13, 2012).*

The USMJ concluded that the computer search was excessive, but the Sixth Circuit spoke in a case on point right after that, so the R&R is adopted as modified. United States v. Labuda, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51084 (W.D. Tenn. April 11, 2012)*:

The Government objects to the Magistrate Judge's conclusion that Campbell's search exceeded the boundaries of the Search Warrant. (Gov.'s Objection 4.) The Government argues that United States v. Richards, 659 F.3d 527 (6th Cir. 2011), which was decided two weeks after the Magistrate Judge's Report, established clearer parameters for electronic database and file searches. (Gov.'s Objections 2.) The Government contends that "the Richards court determined that seizure of images of child pornography other than those specifically sought in the warrant was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment, even though the server was set up with neatly compartmentalized segments and files." (Id.)

A search warrant for a house does not have to include the name of the owners or occupants; a particular description is required with probable cause to believe evidence will be found, and the officers had it here. State v. Lenard, 2012 Ohio 1636, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1433 (8th Dist. April 12, 2012).

Defense counsel was not ineffective for not investigating whether the window tint of his car was legal or not when that was the basis for a stop in a bank robbery case. He didn’t even claim that his windows were overtinted. United States v. Coleman, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51481 (E.D. Pa. April 11, 2012)*:

Petitioner cannot show the existence of a colorable Fourth Amendment claim. Notably, Petitioner does not claim that his windows were not darkly tinted. He does not argue that Hartman should have been able to see inside the vehicle. Although he faults counsel for failing to investigate the level of tint, he does not claim that the windows were not in violation of Pennsylvania's Motor Vehicle Code. [¶] It is undisputed that the windows on Petitioner's vehicle were tinted. It is also undisputed that Trooper Hartman detained the vehicle because of the tinted windows. The suggestion that Counsel was ineffective because he did not investigate the extent of the tint is without merit. Sanders, 165 F.2d at 253. Petitioner's sixth claim lacks merit and is denied.

The search here was conducted by a school resource police officer, and the court finds it was not a police search but a school search. State v. Alaniz, 2012 ND 76, 2012 N.D. LEXIS 74 (April 10, 2012). The standard:

[*P10] Other courts have addressed this issue and have held there are three categories of school searches based on the amount of police involvement: (1) when school officials initiate the search or police involvement is minimal, the reasonableness standard applies; (2) when the search involves school resource officers acting on their own initiative or at the direction of other school officials to further educationally related goals, the reasonableness standard applies; and (3) when "outside" police officers initiate the search, warrant and probable cause requirements apply. See, e.g., T.S. v. State, 863 N.E.2d 362, 367-68 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007); Myers v. State, 839 N.E.2d 1154, 1160 (Ind. 2005); State v. Burdette, 225 P.3d 736, 740 (Kan. Ct. App. 2010); In re D.L.D., 694 S.E.2d 395, 400 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010); State v. J.M., 255 P.3d 828, 832 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

[*P11] In determining how much police involvement occurred and which standard applies, courts have considered various factors, including whether the officer was in uniform, whether the officer has an office on the school campus, how much time the officer is at the school each day, whether the officer is employed by the school system or an independent law enforcement agency, what the officer's duties are at the school, who initiated the investigation, who conducted the search, whether other school officials were involved, and the officer's purpose in conducting the search. See T.S., at 369-71; Burdette, at 740; R.D.S. v. State, 245 S.W.3d 356, 368 (Tenn. 2008). We agree with the rationale used by these courts to determine which standard should apply to school searches.

LONDON (AP) -- From Titanic's birthplace in a Belfast shipyard to its resting place in the North Atlantic, thousands were gathering Saturday to remember the cruise ship that embarked on its maiden voyage as an icon of Edwardian luxury but became, in a few dark hours 100 years ago, an enduring emblem of tragedy....

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Tornado sirens sounded across Oklahoma City hours before dawn Saturday as the nation's midsection braced for what forecasters cautioned could be a day of "life-threatening" storms, with the most dangerous weather expected to develop in the afternoon....

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — More than a dozen possible tornadoes were reported Saturday as forecasters warned residents across the nation's midsection to brace for "life-threatening" weather.

Reported tornadoes targeted Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa during the day, but the most dangerous weather is expected Saturday night into Sunday morning. National ...

Alabama follows Diaz and others and rejects Smith in holding that a cell phone’s text messages are subject to a search incident. Gracie v. State, 2011 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 123 (December 16, 2011)* [Note: It’s always easier to let some other court do your thinking for you. Alabama has a subscription only website for state opinions that I won’t pay for since its opinions are so shallow.]

Defendant was stopped for driving too slow in the left lane and impeding traffic. The video showed trucks slowing and passing on the right. Shell v. State, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 391 (April 12, 2012).*

911 caller said that the police stopped the wrong man, so officers looked at the two men nearest. Finding a gun on one did not dissipate the reasonable suspicion as to the other because the officer did not have to consider the stop over. United States v. Woods, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51607 (W.D. Mo. April 6, 2012).*

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Will and Kate were just the warm up for the true wedding of the century....