Vehicle Stops: Anonymous Tips and Corroboration
with Daniel McNerney, Superior Court Judge, State of California
Minimal corroboration of an anonymous tip of unsafe or erratic driving may
justify a stop of the reported vehicle. Cases cited: Lowry v. Gutierrez (2005)
129 CA4 926; People v. Carter (2005) 36 C4 1114. (8:29)

Apparent Consent by Third Party Searches
with Jeff Rubin, Alameda County District Attorney's Office
If police obtain consent to search a container from someone other than the
owner of the container, the consent will still be held valid if the officer had an
actual and objectively reasonable belief the person giving consent had
apparent authority (i.e., mutual use and joint access or control over the
container) to give consent. Cases cited: United States v. Ruiz (9th Cir. 2005)
428 F.3d 877; United States v. Welch (9th Cir. 1993) 4 F.3d 761. (10:17)

Public Meetings for Police Task Forces?
with William Bedsworth, Justice of the Court of Appeal, State of California
Discusses a Los Angeles Court of Appeal case where the court held that a
police crime-fighting task force that had been operating behind closed doors
for 15 years was a public agency and had to conduct its meetings in public
under the Brown Act. While this caused a great deal of consternation in many
quarters, Justice Bedsworth explains that it’s not as catastrophic as it sounds
and not all police task force meetings need be public. Case Cited: McKee v.
Los Angeles-Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime-Task Force
(05 Daily Journal DAR 13589) (November 28, 2005). (7:47)

Requirement for Infraction Arrests
with Jeff Rubin, Alameda County District Attorney's Office
Generally an officer may not take someone who commits an infraction into
custody if the person provides satisfactory ID and signs a written promise to
appear. However, if a suspect does not present satisfactory ID, an officer
may still, in his or her discretion, take the arrestee into custody even if the
suspect is willing to submit a thumbprint and sign the promise to appear. AG
opinion/statutes cited: AG Opinion 05-206; Pen. Code §§ 853.6 & 640; Veh.
Code § 40303. (6:00)

Miranda: Special Advisement for Foreigners?
with Daniel McNerney, Superior Court Judge, State of California
A suspect in a criminal case who hails from a foreign country and is
unfamiliar with the American criminal justice system is not entitled to special
advisements or additional explanations of the meaning of the Miranda
rights. Case cited: U.S. v. Labrada (2005) DAR 13239. (6:02)

When Right to Counsel Attaches
with Jeff Rubin, Alameda County District Attorney's Office
A suspect’s right to counsel attaches in California when a prosecutor files a
complaint. Thus, even if the suspect has not been arrested or arraigned,
once a complaint has been filed, law enforcement must elicit a waiver of the
right to counsel before interviewing the suspect about the crime charged in
the complaint. Cases/Statute cited: People v. Viray (2005) 134 Cal.App.4th
1186; Texas v. Cobb (2001) 532 U.S. 162; Patterson v. Illinois (1988) 487
U.S. 285; Massiah v. United States (1964) 377 U.S. 201; Pen. Code § 817.
(7:40)