Court Decisions. Street Application.

Case Law for Cops

Know the rule before you make the stop.

Free, plain-language police case law.

§ Topics

Browse the case law by topic

01 Search & Seizure Stops, searches, and seizures: cars, homes, phones, and people. View cases → 02 Questioning Miranda, interrogation, counsel, and when statements come in. View cases → 03 Use of Force Objective reasonableness and deadly force. View cases → 04 Arrest & Detention Probable cause, reasonable suspicion, and seizure. View cases → 05 Civil Liability Qualified immunity, Section 1983, and Brady disclosure. View cases →

§ Landmark Cases

The decisions that set the rules

Carroll v. United States 267 U.S. 132 (1925) The vehicle exception
Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963) Right to counsel
Miranda v. Arizona 384 U.S. 436 (1966) Custodial warnings
Terry v. Ohio 392 U.S. 1 (1968) Stop and frisk
Chimel v. California 395 U.S. 752 (1969) Search incident to arrest
Tennessee v. Garner 471 U.S. 1 (1985) Deadly force
Graham v. Connor 490 U.S. 386 (1989) The use-of-force standard
Whren v. United States 517 U.S. 806 (1996) Pretextual traffic stops
United States v. Arvizu 534 U.S. 266 (2002) Reasonable suspicion, totality
Riley v. California 573 U.S. 373 (2014) Searching a phone
Carpenter v. United States 138 S. Ct. 2206 (2018) Cell-site location

§ From the Field

The daily briefing

Headlines via Police1. Stories open on their site.