Case Comments | Suffolk Law Review

Constitutional Law—Fourth Circuit Applies Intermediate Scrutiny to Second Amendment Challenge—Woollard v. Gallagher, 712 F.3d 865 (4th Cir. 2013), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 422 (2013)

Mar 15, 2014 | Case Comments, Number 1, Print Edition, Volume 47

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right of an individual to possess a firearm independent of service in a militia, and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes like self-defense. This right is not unlimited and does not obliterate...

Constitutional Law—Search-Incident-to-Arrest Exception to Prohibition Against Warrantless Searches Inapplicable to Cell Phone Searches— Smallwood v. State, 113 So. 3d 724 (Fla. 2013)

Mar 15, 2014 | Case Comments, Number 1, Print Edition, Volume 47

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits searches and seizures conducted without prior approval by a judge or magistrate, but this general rule is subject to several exceptions. One such exception allows a police officer to search a person in the course...

Constitutional Law—Plain View Observation of Bullet Warrants Protective Sweep of Vehicle Despite Potential Lawful Explanations—People v. Colyar, 996 N.E.2d 575 (Ill. 2013)

Mar 15, 2014 | Case Comments, Number 1, Print Edition, Volume 47

The Fourth Amendment protects the right of the people to be free from “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Despite this constitutional guarantee, the Supreme Court has carved out numerous exceptions to the warrant requirement, most notably, allowances for searches...

Constitutional Law—Evidence Seized Based on Reasonable Police Mistake of Law Held Admissible in North Carolina Court—State v. Heien, 737 S.E.2d 351 (N.C. 2012)

Mar 15, 2014 | Case Comments, Number 1, Print Edition, Volume 47

Under established constitutional law, a police officer’s search or seizure premised on his mistake of law is typically held unconstitutional. Some jurisdictions, however, permit an officer to base his reasonable suspicion or probable cause on a reasonable mistake...

Tort Law—No Duty for Physician To Warn Guards of Inmate’s Communicable Disease—Seebold v. Prison Health Services, Inc., 57 A.3d 1232 (Pa. 2012)

Mar 15, 2014 | Case Comments, Number 1, Print Edition, Volume 47

One of the critical elements of any action in negligence is the existence of a duty that one party owes to another. Generally a defendant has no duty to protect someone who is at risk due to occurrences that the defendant had no part in generating, but there are...