Archive for the ‘Legal Issues’ Category

Travis Stacey Whitehead v. Virginia

Monday, November 9th, 2009

In this case, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that a positive alert on a vehicle by a trained narcotics detection dog, combined with the subsequent fruitless searches of the vehicle, the driver, and two other passengers, does not provide sufficient particularized probable cause to allow a search of the only ...

Bye, Bye Belton

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Years ago, while working an off-duty job in an apartment complex, I discovered a subject sitting in a vehicle on the property. The vehicle did not have a decal identifying it as a vehicle that belonged to a resident so I approached the vehicle and asked the occupant for ...

U. S. Supreme Court Ruling: Montejo v. Louisiana

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

I have been remiss in posting this recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. I think, as mentioned by the Charlottesville, VA Commonwealth Attorney, the operational policies of most jurisdictions will not be impacted by this ruling. However, agencies who do not adhere to a policy of not interviewing defendants ...

Arizona v. Gant – Additional Commentary From VACP

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

The Virgina Association of Chiefs of Police has issued the following additional commentary concerning Arizona v. Gant. In Arizona v. Gant decided by the United States Supreme Court this week, there is a sentence in the majority opinion which is creating a misconception by the media as well as numerous law ...

Revised Virginia Sexual Assault Policy Laws

Friday, September 5th, 2008

As of July 1, 2008, the Virginia laws that dictate the procedures that permit a sexual assault victim to receive a Physical Evidence Recovery Kit (PERK) examination at a health care facility have changed. The amended law does not require the prior approval from the criminal justice system. ...

Loss of ABC License May Result From Gang Activity

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

The 2008 Virginia General Assembly passed HB1117 that permits the revocation of an ABC license if the licensee has allowed his premises to become a meeting place or rendezvous for members of a criminal street gang, as defined in COV § 18.2-46.1. You can read about this and other legislative changes in ...

New Compensation Rules For Deputies Injured On Job

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

The 2008 Virginia General Assembly passed HB1480 that requires a locality to allow a deputy sheriff injured in the line of duty to use accrued vacation, compensatory, and sick leave to supplement his workers’ compensation allowance, so as to receive 100 percent compensation. It also requires the locality to continue to ...

Legal Updates 2008 – NOW AVAILABLE!

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

We are pleased to announce the availability of our new on-line Legal Updates 2008 course. This course meets the DCJS legal in-service training requirements. It is also available to any agency so call for pricing details - 540.797.3853 There is even better news for those academies that run their own on-line training systems.  ...

New Law Authorizes Credit Freeze

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

The 2008 Virginia General Assembly passed HB1311 that authorizes any consumer to freeze access to his credit report. If a consumer has placed a freeze on his credit report, a consumer reporting agency is prohibited from releasing the credit report, or any information in it, without the consumer's express authorization. ...

Agencies Required To Develop Sexual Assault Policies

Monday, May 5th, 2008

The 2008 Virginia General Assembly passed HB1395 that requires the Department of State Police, local law-enforcement agencies and campus police departments establish written policies and procedures regarding response to incidents involving sexual assault. DCJS is directed to provide law-enforcement agencies with technical support and assistance in developing the policies and procedures ...

New Law Mandates Death Notification Training

Sunday, May 4th, 2008

The 2008 Virginia General Assembly passed HB1236 that requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish compulsory training standards and publish a model policy for law-enforcement personnel regarding death notifications. Fortunately, we were way ahead of the curve on this issue. The updated RLS Enterprises, Inc. on-line training curriculum ...

Supreme Court Upholds Virginia Drug Arrest

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that Portsmouth police did not violate David Lee Moore’s Fourth Amendment when they made an arrest that was based on probable cause but prohibited by state law, or when they performed a search incident to the arrest. Rather than issuing the summons required by Virginia ...

No Sex For Kids But Violence Is OK

Sunday, August 26th, 2007

Politicians or public servants? Are our elected officials working for themselves or working for the voters? The answers to these questions depend on the character and values of your representative. However, make no mistake - the degree of enthusiasm with which an elected official pursues an issue ...

As Simple As Black And White

Saturday, August 18th, 2007

The word miscegenation is derived from the Latin words miscere “to mix” and genus “kind”. Don't get excited - it isn't your "vocabulary word of the day", you won't have to use it three times in a sentence and there won't be a quiz. However, it is ...