Policing Under Section 1983: The Year in Review (2021)

The year 2020-21, has been a monumental one for policing in America, and this course will help you stay on top of the developments that will affect your practice. First, we will review the Supreme Court's 2020-21 term, including residential searches under Caniglia v. Strom; residential arrests under Lange v. California; and intent to restrain as a seizure under Torres v. Madrid. Next, the top ten ways policing after George Floyd and Breonna Taylor will affect your practice: from qualified immunity, chokeholds, and no-knock warrants; to de-escalation, mental health calls and failure to intervene; to reforms in training and transparency in discipline; and changing concepts in law enforcement itself. All this plus links to use in your practice.

This program will benefit all criminal and civil rights attorneys and anyone who wants an update on the legal landscape of policing in 2021.

The course is taught by Wayne C. Beyer, a litigator, author, presenter, and former administrative appeals judge. Course viewers will receive an exclusive discount on his treatise and handbook "Police Misconduct: A Practitioner's Guide to Section 1983." 

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss the Supreme Court's 2020-21 term in review: limitations on residential searches and arrests, but an expansion of what is a seizure

2. Master the state of mind requirement from "objective reasonableness" to "deliberate indifference" for individual, municipal liability, and punitive damages

3. Identify reforms that would limit qualified immunity, neck restraints, no-knock warrants, pursuits, shooting at vehicles, and require de-escalation of force and intervention

4. Review training models that integrate assessment, communications, and tactics and replace the use of force continuum and 21-foot rule

5. Assess discipline that involves early warning, citizen review boards, public hearings, and access to disciplinary records

6. Stay up to date on recent developments in the First Amendment, the right to protest, and new concepts in crowd control

7. Examine the trend towards legalization of drug possession and what that means for motor vehicle stops, searches, and arrests

8. Discuss the future of policing