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Brian Beasley is the Legal Adviser for the High Point Police Department in High Point, North Carolina. In order to justify his exorbitant (not really) salary and keep his officers informed of the latest changes in the law, he writes legal updates from time to time. Brian knows that officers aren’t generally enthusiastic about reading something entitled “Legal Update” so he tries to include some humorous footnotes to encourage them. Since he began writing these updates, officers from other agencies have asked to be added to the mailing list, but Brian decided that creating a blog was by far a more arrogant and geeky option.

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    Consent-Once-Removed

    20 Feb

    Posted by Brian Beasley In Legal Update

    To download a PDF file of this update, click here

    Consent-Once-Removed:
    When Your Houseguest Brings The Police With Him
    Legal Question of The Week

    Vol. 2, Number 5
    February 20, 2009 

    Brian Beasley
    Good Host and Legal Adviser, HPPD 

                Several of my eagle-eyed law enforcement friends contacted me recently about a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that they found interesting.  It deals with a doctrine called “consent-once-removed.”  Contrary to popular belief, this doctrine has nothing to do with that girl you brought home who has been leading you on all night only to shoot you down at the last possible moment.1  Instead, the “once-removed” in “consent-once-removed” is like the “once-removed” when you have a second cousin “once-removed.”2 3  This doctrine deals with whether consent given to an undercover officer or a person acting as an agent of an officer grants consent to all law enforcement officers to enter a house without a warrant. Read More

    1. Not that I know anything about that from personal experience.  It happened to a friend of mine.  Really.  He told me about it.  It didn’t happen to me. ↩
    2. I’ve never understood how this relative stuff works.  And before you start working on the email that will explain it to me, please understand that I don’t care how it works . ↩
    3. That’s not to say that your cousin once removed can’t lead you on all night only to shoot you down at the last moment, but that’s sick and I promised the Chief that I wouldn’t include any more incest jokes in these updates.  On a related note, North Carolina allows you to marry your first cousin, so I guess this wasn’t an incest joke after all. ↩
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    Arizona v. Johnson and the Frisk

    06 Feb

    Posted by Brian Beasley In Legal Update

    To download a PDF file of this update, click here

    Arizona v. Johnson and The Frisk:
    Not Just For Drivers Anymore
    Legal Question of The Week

    Vol. 2, Number 4
    February 6, 2009 

    Brian Beasley
    Frisky Fellow and Legal Adviser, HPPD 

    Dateline:  April 19, 20021

    Location:  Tucson, Arizona2

    Protagonists:  Officer Maria Trevizo3 and Detectives with Arizona’s gang task force

    Poor, Misunderstood Gang Member:  Lemon Montrea Johnson4

                Officer Trevizo and her colleagues were on patrol in Tucson near a neighborhood associated with the Crips gang.  Around 9 p.m., they pulled over an automobile after running the tag and discovering an insurance stop.  Under Arizona law, this was only an infraction so no arrest could be made solely on that charge.  There were three people in the vehicle, including Lemon Johnson, who was seated in the back seat.

                The three officers exited their vehicle and approached the stopped vehicle.  One of them, Detective Machado, instructed all the occupants to keep their hands visible and asked if there were any weapons in the vehicle; all of them responded “no.”  Machado then directed the driver to get out of the car.  While Machado was getting the driver’s license and information from the driver, Officer Trevizo turned her attention to Mr. Johnson. Read More

    1. On this date in 1775, the “shot heard round the world” was fired and the American Revolutionary War began . ↩
    2. Tucson is sometimes referred to as “The Old Pueblo.”  This will all be on the test later.  Their motto:  “Real.  Natural.  Arizona.”  Not. Very. Clever. ↩
    3. I love this name.  Jersey girl moves to Tucson. ↩
    4. Lemon is a type of fruit, not generally a first name.  This name sounds like something you order off the dessert menu:  “I’ll have the Lemon Montrea pie.”  Of course, maybe he pronounced it with the second syllable accented as in “Le-MON.”  Now he is a French aristocrat….or related to Pepe Le Pew from the old Bugs Bunny cartoons. ↩
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