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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)

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)

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)

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...