News & Information

Client Alerts — Law Enforcement August 14, 2023

Vol. 38 No. 11 COURT STRIKES DOWN WARRANTLESS TOWS OF SAFELY AND LEGALLY PARKED CARS WITH UNPAID PARKING TICKETS

In July 2023, the California Court of Appeal held that warrantless tows of legally parked cars with unpaid parking tickets that present no threat to public safety and the efficient movement of vehicular traffic are not permissible.  Coalition on Homelessness v. City & Cnty. of S.F. (2023) 2023 Cal. App. LEXIS 557 (7-21-23).  However, this…

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News August 11, 2023

Attorney Danielle Williams Joins Jones Mayer

Jones Mayer is pleased to announce that Danielle Williams has joined the firm’s Citrus Heights office as an associate. Ms. Williams received her J.D. in 2017 from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. She brings to the firm a wealth of experience as a deputy district attorney and litigator…

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News August 11, 2023

Jones Mayer Welcomes New Attorney

Jones Mayer is pleased to announce Bruce Gridley has joined the firm as a senior litigator. Gridley received his JD from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law where he learned what it was like to be a litigator, a profession he had been interested in since watching Perry Mason. Following law school,…

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News July 25, 2023

Jones Mayer Leads Successful Appellate Defense in Civil Rights Case

FULLERTON, CA—Municipal law firm Jones Mayer represented peace officers from the West Covina Police Department in a recent civil rights case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorney Melissa Ballard made oral arguments before the Court in a special sitting held on February 15, 2023, at the University of San Diego.  The case, Briseno…

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Client Alerts — Law Enforcement July 18, 2023

Vol. 38 No. 10 A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER MUST HAVE PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE THAT A PERSON IS ON ACTIVE PAROLE BEFORE CONDUCTING A SUSPICION-LESS SEARCH OR SEIZURE PURSUANT TO A PAROLE CONDITION

In United States v. Estrella,[1] the Ninth Circuit held that a law enforcement officer must have probable cause to believe that a person is on active parole before conducting a suspicionless search or seizure pursuant to a parole condition, but that officer need not have ongoing day-by-day awareness of person’s parole status. Background In 2015,…

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Client Alerts — Law Enforcement July 17, 2023

Vol. 38 No. 9 USE OF FORCE PREDICATED ON SUSPICION OF IMPENDING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY WAS NOT SUFFICIENT BASIS FOR DENYING QUALIFIED IMMUNITY FROM CLAIMS BASED ON THOSE ACTS BECAUSE IT WAS OBJECTIVELY REASONABLE

In Hopson v. Alexander,[1] the Ninth Circuit held that police detectives were entitled to qualified immunity in an action alleging excessive force under 42 U.S.C. section 1983.  The detectives had approached a parked vehicle with guns pointed and forcibly removed the occupants without first identifying themselves as law enforcement officers because of their suspicion of…

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Client Alerts — Law Enforcement June 30, 2023

Vol. 38 No. 8 QUALIFIED IMMUNITY APPLIED TO OFFICERS’ WARRANTLESS IN-HOME ARREST WHERE OFFICERS WERE RESPONDING TO A POTENTIAL KIDNAPPING

In Hill v. City of Fountain Valley,[1] the Ninth Circuit concluded that although officers likely did not have probable cause to arrest a plaintiff for obstruction, qualified immunity shielded the officers from liability because there was no clearly established law at the time forbidding their actions, given the plaintiff’s evasive behavior that appeared to interfere…

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Client Alerts — Law Enforcement June 29, 2023

Vol. 38 No. 7 SUPREME COURT LIMITS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 821.6 IMMUNITY FOR INSTITUTING OR PROSECUTING A JUDICIAL PROCEEDING

On June 22, 2023, the California Supreme Court issued a published opinion in Leon v. County of Riverside, Supreme Court Case No. S269672, which greatly limits Government Code section 821.6 immunity for the instituting of prosecuting a judicial proceeding.  This case will have an important impact on the liability exposure concerning law enforcement officers or…

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