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WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) -- Searchers aided by dogs have failed to turn up any new clues as they renewed their search for a Maine toddler who's been missing for more than three months....

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Eight people, including a woman celebrating her 26th birthday and six young children who stayed over for a family slumber party, died Saturday when fire tore through a two-story home while they slept, officials and witnesses said....

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a Florida man is charged with threatening the police chief who had been overseeing the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black teen by a neighborhood watch captain.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office says John Carnduff Stewart of Melbourne Beach emailed Sanford ...

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) -- Alleged victims of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky will have to testify using their real names, and tweets or other electronic communications by reporters will not be permitted during the trial, the judge ruled Monday....

A commercial vehicle safety stop was valid, and defendant’s lack of knowledge about his load, where he got it, and exactly where he was going was reasonable suspicion to detain him for a dog sniff. The USMJ concluded that the trailer was unlawfully searched but a drug dog alert after that was inevitable discovery because that was probable cause. United States v. Rendon, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 5974 (11th Cir. March 22, 2012) (unpublished).*

The testimony of consent was conflicting, but the credibility determination of the trial court is binding on appeal. State v. Reglus, 2012 Ohio 1174, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1033 (9th Dist. March 21, 2012)* (sustaining consent); State v. Durden, 2012 Ohio 1194, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1048 (8th Dist. March 22, 2012) (finding consent involuntary).

The trial court concluded that the officer’s car blocked defendant’s car and was a stop, but it was with reasonable suspicion. State v. Spradlin, 2012 Ohio 1211, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1071 (5th Dist. March 12, 2012).*

An affidavit for search warrant that showed utterly no connection to the place to be searched lacked probable cause. And, it was so lacking in probable cause that the good faith exception did not apply. United States v. Bautista, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39222 (W.D. Ky. March 22, 2012):

To establish probable cause, the affidavit must have indicated why evidence of illegal activity would be found at the particular place to be search-Lot #78. The affidavit does not do so. Like in Laughton, the affidavit in this case neither indicated that Lot # 78 was Bautista's residence nor indicated that the drug sales described by Copeland occurred at Lot # 78. Instead, the affidavit states only that the drug sales occurred at Bautista's residence, and then lists Lot # 78 as the place to be searched. The government contends that, given all the circumstances of Copeland's information and the detailed description of the place to be searched, the inference can be made Lot #78 is Bautista's residence. However, the government's argument is to no avail because the affidavit contains no evidence from which such an inference could be made. The single paragraph setting forth the factual details fails to even mention Lot #78. Accordingly, probable cause to search the residence located at Lot #78 was not established because the affidavit submitted to obtain the warrant did not explain the significance or the relevance of searching the home located at this particular location. See United States v. Hove, 848 F.2d 137, 139 (9th Cir. 1988) (finding no probable cause where the affidavit failed to provide any nexus between the residence and the illegal activity).

. . .

Likewise, here, the affidavit simply lists an address of the premises to be searched, and states Copeland's allegations regarding the fact that he regularly purchased methamphetamine from Bautista at his home. There is not even a "modicum of evidence" linking the criminal activity described by Copeland and Lot #78. Cf. United States v. Van Shutters, 163 F.3d 331, 337 (6th Cir. 1998) (applying good faith exception where affidavit for search warrant neglected to indicate why the affiant believed the defendant had any connection to the residence, but did state that the rooms in the residence were available to the defendant). Importantly, the affidavit did not state any evidence linking Bautista to Lot #78 and did not even state that Bautista resided at Lot #78. No reasonable officer could have believed that the affidavit was not so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to be reliable. Although the Court does not find that the law enforcement officers acted in bad faith, it nonetheless must conclude that the Leon good faith exception does not apply.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Anyone worried about an erosion of America's global status might consider this modest fact: Facebook is the dominant social network in Mongolia....

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Generations of Navajo families have grazed livestock on a remote but spectacular mesa that overlooks the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers....

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- I thought my son would be much older before I had to tell him about the Black Male Code. He's only 12, still sleeping with stuffed animals, still afraid of the dark. But after the Trayvon Martin tragedy, I needed to explain to my child that soon people might be afraid of him....

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- I thought my son would be much older before I had to tell him about the Black Male Code. He's only 12, still sleeping with stuffed animals, still afraid of the dark. But after the Trayvon Martin tragedy, I needed to explain to my child that soon people might be afraid of him....

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- I thought my son would be much older before I had to tell him about the Black Male Code. He's only 12, still sleeping with stuffed animals, still afraid of the dark. But after the Trayvon Martin tragedy, I needed to explain to my child that soon people might be afraid of him....

A citizen informant’s report that his store was a crime victim was a sufficient basis for a stop. State v. Wiggins, 2012 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 178 (March 20, 2012).

Factual disputes on excessive force as shown by the video was enough to deny qualified immunity. Staten v. Tatom, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 5991 (5th Cir. March 22, 2012).*

Appellate counsel’s decision not to appeal the alleged lack of probable cause for the search warrant was justified because it was a loser issue. Ford v. United States, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38296 (E.D. Mo. March 21, 2012).*

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The feast is on: "The Hunger Games" has taken in $68.25 million domestically in its first day, a record for a non-sequel....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The feast is on: "The Hunger Games" has taken in $68.25 million domestically in its first day, a record for a non-sequel....

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The father of a freshman in Florida A&M University's famed marching band emailed the school's president in 2007 after getting a series of panic-stricken phone calls. The son never described exactly what was happening, but he made it clear he feared getting beaten....

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The father of a freshman in Florida A&M University's famed marching band emailed the school's president in 2007 after getting a series of panic-stricken phone calls. The son never described exactly what was happening, but he made it clear he feared getting beaten....

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia mayor says no smoke detector was working when a fire erupted inside a home, killing six children and two adults in what he says is the city's deadliest fire in six decades.

Charleston Mayor Danny Jones tells the Associated Press only one smoke ...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A fire tore through a two-story home that had no functioning smoke detectors Saturday in West Virginia's capital city, killing eight family members, including six children, the city's mayor said....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama wants Congress to end a showdown that threatens to cut off federal highway and transit aid to states just as the spring construction season starts....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama wants Congress to end a showdown that threatens to cut off federal highway and transit aid to states just as the spring construction season starts....