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From the Ninth Circuit . . . the good, and the bad and ugly

First the good news: Moreno v. Baca, 400 F.3d 1152 (9th Cir. 2005). Moreno is a civil rights action where the plaintiff, a parolee, claimed he was wrongfully detained by the LAPD. The court, relying upon Knights, agreed that, despite the standard parole search condition, he was illegally detained. The court held that even if you are on parole, law enforcement must have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. The plaintiff in this case was just walking down the street. There is some great language in this opinion for future search and seizure motions. California state practitioners must be sure to move to suppress evidence even if their clients are subject to parole/probation search conditions.

Now the bad & ugly: United States v. Pulliam (9th Cir., 2005). The court held that passengers of automobiles do not have standing to suppress if the vehicle they are in is wrongfully stopped. The passenger must demonstrate a privacy interest in the automobile. One of the problems with the opinion is that it does not discuss prior 9th Circuit precedent holding that passengers do have standing. A case of mine on this same issue is now pending before the California Supreme Court. I suspect Pulliam will be cited. This issue ought to go to the United States Supreme Court.