Also known as: police officers · law enforcement officer
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A governmental employee vested with authority to enforce criminal laws, investigate offenses, make arrests, and maintain public order.
Pedro Pacheco, a city police officer, met with a licensed social worker for several sessions after fatally shooting a suspect during a domestic call. When a civil suit later sought the records, the court held the communications privileged because they occurred in the course of diagnosis and treatment.
Phoebe Park listed prior residences and education on her character questionnaire but also claimed she had worked as a police officer for two years. The board denied certification, treating the false statement about holding that position as independent proof of dishonesty.
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Priya Prasad, a county police officer, responded to a noise complaint at a church camp and issued citations under an existing ordinance. When the church later challenged a separate zoning freeze as a taking, the court distinguished the officer's enforcement actions from regulatory restrictions on land use.
Patrick Phan, identified as a federal narcotics officer, entered a suspect's apartment without a warrant and seized evidence. The resident later filed a damages action against the officer and fellow agents for the alleged constitutional violation.
Penelope Price, a state police officer, testified under a grant of immunity at a legislative hearing about departmental practices. Prosecutors later sought to use her statements in a related criminal case, prompting litigation over the scope of the protection.
Priscilla Parks, an off-duty police officer, was cited under a state sodomy statute for consensual conduct in her own home. The defendant argued the law violated substantive due process, leading the court to examine the statute's application to private adult behavior.
Yes. Federal common law recognizes the privilege for confidential communications made to a licensed social worker or psychotherapist during diagnosis or treatment, and the privilege applies in the same manner as the attorney-client privilege.
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Yes. Such a misstatement demonstrates a lack of concern for truthfulness and constitutes independent evidence of deficient moral character that justifies withholding certification.
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No. Force is not justified to resist an arrest that the actor knows is being made by a peace officer, regardless of the arrest's lawfulness, unless the actor reasonably believes force is necessary to avoid death or serious bodily harm.
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Yes. Age is not a suspect or quasi-suspect classification, so a rule requiring all campus police officers to retire at age 65 survives rational basis scrutiny when it is rationally related to maintaining a vigorous law enforcement presence.
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…deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way. In each of the four cases before us, the defendant was questioned by police officers, detectives, or a prosecuting attorney in a room in which he was cut off from the outside world. In none of these cases was the defendant given a full and effective warning of his rights at…