Opinions Corner Opinion No. 2014-023
Opinion No. 2013-138
The Attorney General released an opinion on May 19 to answer questions regarding the use of taser stun guns. In the opinion, he said that Commissioned Security Officers (CSOs) and Private Security Officers (PSOs) are not prohibited from carrying or using tasers on the job. He cited A.C.A. § 17-40-101 et seq. , the Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act. The Attorney General explained in the opinion that even though there is no requirement in state law that CSOs or PSOs receive taser training, the Arkansas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies may require such training.
In an opinion released April 4, the Attorney General addressed questions regarding the use of golf carts on city streets. In the opinion, he explained that municipalities have discretion to decide whether to pass ordinances allowing golf carts on city streets, under A.C.A. § 14-54-1410. In the opinion, the Attorney General concluded that since there are no state laws establishing insurance or age requirements for golf carts operated on city streets, municipalities passing such ordinances are authorized to require golf carts to have liability insurance and set minimum age requirements for individuals operating golf carts.
State law does require that law enforcement officers receive taser training. Requiring similar training for CSOs and PSOs may be a policy matter for the General Assembly to consider and address.
The full text of Attorney General opinions issued since 1991 may be found on the Attorney General’s web site at www.arkansasag.gov/opinions/.
Warrants Required For Cell Phone Searches By David Raupp Senior Assistant Attorney General Arkansas Attorney General’s Office In our January 10-8 Newsletter, we wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court would be reviewing a case from California this spring to address what Fourth Amendment limits exist on the search of a suspect’s cell phone. We explained that the most prudent course for police is to obtain a warrant because the search of a cell phone pursuant to a judicial warrant, like most warranted searches, is readily defensible. Now, we can report that the Supreme Court has held that a warrant is required to search a cell phone. The Court heard oral argument in the California case in April of this year, along with a case that arose from a federal prosecution in Boston. In the California case, San Diego police officers arrested David Riley for a traffic violation some weeks after a gang shooting, and his cell phone was seized at the time. One of the arresting officers and a gang detective searched Riley’s phone, finding gang-related pictures and videos on it. Riley was convicted of various crimes related to the shooting, and his sentence was enhanced because the crimes were gang related. The California Court of Appeals upheld the search of Riley’s phone.
after police saw him participate in a drug sale. His flip phone was seized at the time. At the police station, officers saw that it was repeatedly called from a location the phone displayed as “my house.” Officers opened the phone and found the number for “my house” in the call log. They obtained a search warrant for the location associated with that number and seized drugs and firearms there, leading to Wurie’s convictions. A federal appeals court overturned his convictions, finding the initial phone search illegal. Both California and the United States asked the Court to extend the search-incident-to-arrest doctrine to permit cell-phone searches at the time of a defendant’s arrest, as is permitted for many physical items. But, in a unanimous decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court rejected the governments’ arguments. The Court said the answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone is simple — get a warrant.
The Court held that cell phone searches aren’t the same as the warrantless search of physical items, such as wallets and purses, because those searches are to ensure officer safety or prevent destruction of evidence of a crime. The warrantless search of digital information contained in cell phones, the Court held, was not necessary for safety or to secure evidence. The Court noted that the digital information is not itself a threat and, if it contains evidence of a threat, urgent circumstances in an individual case might In the Boston case, Brima Wurie was arrested permit a warrantless search. Page 2
The Court also held that while the warrantless search of physical items seized from arrestees is not a substantial intrusion into their privacy, the warrantless search of the digital information on cell phones certainly is. Because of their capacity to store tremendous amounts of personal information, the Court said a warrantless search of that information exposes arrestees to the invasion of “nearly every aspect of their lives.” The Court acknowledged that its ruling would have some adverse impact on combatting crime, but said that it was not foreclosing searches of cell phones, only requiring that those seized in routine arrests be searched pursuant a warrant. At the end of its opinion, the Court harkened back to the American Revolution, noting that the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment was a response to the arbitrary use of general warrants or writs of assistance by the British against colonists with near limitless intrusion into “the privacies of life.” Cell phones, the Court said, hold for many Americans those same privacies, and the information they contain is no less worthy of the protection the Founders intended for our homes.
2014 ARKANSAS Rx Drug Abuse
SUMMIT
September 9 Ron Robinson Theater Full day of pre-conference workshops, followed by an evening screening of “The Hungry Heart” documentary. Email RxSummit@arkansasAG.gov to reserve seats for the film on Sept. 9.
September 10 Statehouse Convention Center Formal Summit with keynote lunch and break-out sessions. Summit Keynote:
The Summit is free but registration is required
Jim Hood Mississippi Attorney General President of the National Association of Attorneys General and former prosecutor
for Sept. 10 events. Register at www.CJI.edu Criminal Justice Track presentations include:
The Partnership of Law Enforcement and Public Health — Lt. Det. Patrick Glynn, commander of the Quincy, Mass., narcotics unit and authority on the use of Narcan
Current Pharmaceutical Abuse and Diversion Trends — Marc Gonzalez, Pharm.D., National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators
Inside the Mind of a Drug User — Joe Keil, drug recognition expert, Manitowoc, Wis. Go to www.ArkansasAG.gov for details Page 3
to provide them with updated informaThe Rural Executive Management Institute (REMI) tion and new techniques and procedures for crime scene investigation. is coming to Little Rock
at 10800 Colonel Glenn Road in Little Rock.
By Dr. Cheryl May Criminal Justice Institute Director
This year’s tentative agenda includes the following presentations:
A four-day REMI training program will be available at the Criminal Justice Institute September 21-25. REMI is a management education and training program designed exclusively for rural law enforcement agency heads. To date, the program has been held in 33 different cities in 29 states across the United States. Participants receive up-to-date information on key issues in rural law enforcement management and have the unique opportunity to interact with peers from neighboring states. There is no registration cost to attend. In an effort to make this training more affordable to rural law enforcement, some expenses that the participant may incur by attending the training, i.e., hotel, per diem, will be covered by a federal grant through the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Participants will be chosen from police departments in cities with populations of 25,000 or less, or sheriffs’ offices in counties with populations of 50,000 or less. If you are interested in attending this training, please contact Yvonne Burk at (501) 570-8051 or dyburk@cji.edu. Nominees will be accepted on a first-come basis. In other news, the Criminal Justice Institute recently released a new schedule of classes through December 2014, which features a diverse mix of programs for officers at every level of law enforcement. For graduates of our “Crime Scene Technician Certificate Program,” CJI will be offering the “Advanced Crime Scene Technician Certificate Program”
Both “Criminal Interdiction and Advanced Criminal Interdiction” and “Trapped Vehicle School” will be offered again to assist officers in identifying indicators of criminal activity during traffic stops. Additionally, “Reality-Based Training” is a new program designed to resemble real-life scenarios and better prepare officers for safety. For officers working on school campuses, classes are available ranging from “Active Shooter Response” to “Drugs on Campus.” In addition, “Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Awareness for SROS” will be offered in September at Camp Robinson, aiding officers in the recognition of commercial, military and homemade explosives, as well as their function and uses. A complete listing of our programs is now available at www.cji.edu. Providing your officers with continued training and education is one of the most important steps you can take in strengthening your agency and improving services in your community. If you have ideas for training opportunities you feel would be beneficial to Arkansas law enforcement, please share your suggestions with us. It is important to the Criminal Justice Institute that we provide the right mix of programs to meet the specific needs of your agency. Working together, we can make communities safer one officer at a time!
2014 Law Enforcement Summit Planning Underway By Cindy Murphy Communications Director Arkansas Attorney General’s Office The 2014 Arkansas Law Enforcement Summit will be held on November 13th Page 4
Registration will begin later this summer.
Lt. Dave Delvecchia Connecticut State Police Lessons from Sandy Hook Elementary Director Steve Gahagans and Campus Emergency Manager Matt Mills University of Arkansas Police Using Social Media in Emergency Management Amy E. Herman Nationally recognized law enforcement instructor and art historian The Art of Perception: Teaching Cops to See Captain Daniel W. Gerard Cincinnati Police Department Using Social Media as an Investigative Tool The Attorney General’s Office hosts the Summit each year to recognize the efforts of the state’s law enforcement community and provide training to police, prosecutors and criminal justice professionals. A highlight of the annual event is the Attorney General’s recognition of outstanding law enforcement officers and the presentation of the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award. To nominate an outstanding law enforcement officer, fill out the Outstanding Law Enforcement Officers of the Year Award nomination form, found in this issue. Nominations are due no later than September 9th. Watch www.ArkansasAG.gov for developments. For more information, call the Attorney General’s Community Relations Department at (800) 448-3014 or (501) 682-1020.
As part of the 2014 ARKANSAS PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE SUMMIT a special FREE screening followed by a Q & A with director Bess O’Brien
September 9 — 6 p.m. Ron Robinson Theater Little Rock Find more information on the Summit: www.ArkansasAG.gov Page 5
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel
2014 Outstanding Law Enforcement Officers of the Year Awards
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is accepting nominations from municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies for the 2014 Outstanding Law Enforcement Officers of the Year Awards. The selection process will be based on statewide participation of qualified candidates who have performed admirably in the line of duty within the past eighteen (18) months. Each department’s nomination will be reviewed by the Attorney General’s Selection Committee of criminal justice professionals from around the state. Four individual nominees who have honored the profession in the most outstanding manner – one from each district – will be selected as the Attorney General’s 2014 Law Enforcement Officers of the Year for that particular district. An individual will be selected from all of the nominations as the Attorney General’s 2014 Arkansas Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
Each nomination must include the following: A personal letter to General McDaniel sharing the details of the nominee’s job performance. Each letter should be limited to no more than 2 pages in length. Please feel free to attach copies of background materials or media clippings to substantiate your nomination. You may also attach a photograph of the nominee. All photographs must be labeled on the back with the nominee’s name, rank, and department.
Each nomination must be received by the Office of the Attorney General no later than Tuesday, September 9, 2014 Send nominations to: Attorney General Dustin McDaniel – Community Relations Division – 323 Center Street, Suite 200 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Phone: (800) 448-3014 or (501) 682-1020 Fax: (501) 682-6704 Email: officer2014@arkansasAG.gov *Due to the 2011 Congressional redistricting, some counties have been divided into multiple districts. The names of these counties will appear in both districts. District 1 includes the following counties: Arkansas, Baxter, Chicot, Clay, Cleburne, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Lonoke, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, Prairie, Randolph, St. Francis, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, and Woodruff. District 2 includes the following counties: Conway, Faulkner, Perry, Pulaski, Saline, Van Buren, White, and Yell.
District 3 includes the following counties: Benton, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Sebastian, and Washington. District 4 includes the following counties: Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia, Crawford, Dallas, Drew, Franklin, Garland, Grant, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Little River, Logan, Madison, Miller, Montgomery, Nevada, Newton, Ouachita, Pike, Polk, Scott, Sevier, and Union.
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2014 OUTSTANDING Awards Nomination *Nominations for fallen officers are not required. They will be recognized with special Valor Tributes.
Name of Agency/Department
City/County Nominee Is Assigned to Serve
Name of Agency/Dept. Commanding Officer
(Please list your Congressional District)
Nominee Information: Rank & Name Position w/ Department or Agency Total Years as a Sworn Arkansas Law Enforcement Officer
Total Years in Law Enforcement For More Information regarding this nomination, please contact: Name
____________
Position w/ Department or Agency Daytime Phone Number (
)
Extension
Name of secretary or assistant ______________________________________________________ Phone Number ___________________ Extension _______ Fax Number ___________________ AG Use Only: ___ District 1 ___ District 2 ___ District 3 ___ District 4
___ Municipal Department ___ Sheriff’s Dept ___ State Police ___ College/University PD
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___ Clippings Attached ___ Photograph Attached
ATTORNEY GENERAL
DUSTIN MCDANIEL
Mailing Address Line 1 Mailing Address Line 2 Mailing Address Line 3 Mailing Address Line 4
ARKANSAS
323 Center Street, Suite 1100 Little Rock, AR 72201 1 (800) 448-3014
EDITOR CINDY MURPHY Communications Director EDITORIAL BOARD ERIKA GEE Chief of Staff J.P. FRENCH Chief, Special Investigations Division DAVID RAUPP Senior Assistant Attorney General SARAH GIBSON Public Affairs
For a subscription to the 10-8 Newsletter call (501)682-2007 or (800)448-3014 To read the 10-8 online, go to www.ArkansasAG.gov Follow the AG on Twitter: @AttyGenMcDaniel “Like” the Arkansas Attorney General on Facebook