Case Law Library

Requires police to inform suspects in custody of their constitutional rights before interrogation, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.

Established the legal standard of 'reasonable suspicion' for temporary police detentions and pat-downs for weapons.

Established the 'objective reasonableness' standard for use of force, judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene.

Ruled that using a minor traffic infraction as a pretext to investigate a hunch about unrelated criminal activity violates WA's privacy protections.

Deadly force may not be used to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect unless the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.

Established the 'good-faith' exception to the exclusionary rule, allowing evidence obtained with a warrant later found to be invalid, if officers acted in good faith.

Applied the 'exclusionary rule' to the states, meaning evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is inadmissible in state court.

Narrows the scope of a search incident to arrest for vehicles. Police may only search a vehicle if the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance or if it's reasonable to believe evidence for the crime of arrest is in the vehicle.