Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Fourth Amendment

Criminal Law

: Fourth Amendment

Article: "The SWAT Team Would Like to See Your Alcohol Permit / How police use regulatory inspections to conduct warrantless searches"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The SWAT Team Would Like to See Your Alcohol Permit / How police use regulatory inspections to conduct warrantless searches by Rodney Balko. In August a team of heavily armed Orange County, Florida, sheriff’s deputies raided several black- and Hispanic-owned barbershops in the Orlando area. There were more raids in September and October. According to the Orlando Sentinel, barbers and customers were held at gunpoint, some in handcuffs, while police turned the shops upside down. A total of nine shops were raided, and 37 people were arrested. By all appearances, these raids were drug sweeps. Shop owners told the Sentinel police asked where they were hiding illegal drugs and weapons. But in the end, 34 of the 37 arrests were for "barbering without a licence," a misdemeanor for which only three people have ever served jail time in Florida...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 14, 2010 (boomark / email).