Also known as: law enforcement system · law-enforcement systems · law enforcement systems · law enforcement · criminal justice system
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A network of federal, state, and local agencies and officers responsible for investigating crimes, apprehending suspects, and enforcing criminal laws under constitutional limits on governmental power.
Lunar Dynamics faces a federal mandate requiring state environmental regulators to run background checks on plant managers using state resources. State officials refuse, citing limits on federal authority over their personnel. The court holds that the directive improperly commandeers the state law-enforcement system.
Liam Larson agrees to help Luna Lang divert cargo but later decides against it. He contacts authorities with details of the planned offense before any containers move. His timely report satisfies the requirement to notify the law-enforcement system and ends his liability.
Lorenzo Lugo receives a weapon and cash from client Luke Latham and places both in a new safe deposit box. Officers later discover the items during an unrelated search. The court rules that the lawyer's actions remove any privilege and expose him to liability for obstructing the law-enforcement system.
Lily Lopez accepts an offer from an officer posing as a buyer to sell electronics she obtained through diversion. She later claims the officer's false statements about legitimacy induced her conduct. The court examines whether the methods created a substantial risk that a person not ready to offend would commit the crime, testing proper conduct by the law-enforcement system.
Latoya Lane learns from her client the location of stolen goods and retrieves them to prevent discovery. She stores the items in her own office before turning them over. The court requires disclosure of the physical evidence to the law-enforcement system while protecting the underlying client communication.
Legacy Motors employees report suspected narcotics activity at a warehouse. Federal agents enter without a warrant and seize records. The owner sues the agents for damages arising from the violation of Fourth Amendment rights by the law-enforcement system.
On the morning of November 26, 1965, agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics entered Webster Bivens's apartment in the Bronx. The agents broke open the door, handcuffed Bivens in front of his wife and young children, and thoroughly searched the apartment. They then transported Bivens to the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, where he was interrogated, booked, and subjected to a visual strip search. Several days later Bivens was released on his own recognizance, and he was never indicted or prosecuted for any offense. Bivens filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the six agents in their individual capacities. His complaint sought fifteen thousand dollars in damages from each agent and alleged that the arrest and search were effected without a warrant, that unreasonable force was employed, and that the arrest was made without probable cause. Bivens claimed to have suffered great humiliation, embarrassment, and mental suffering as a result of the agents' conduct. The District Court dismissed the complaint on the ground that it failed to state a cause of action. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal. The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari to review the judgment.
View caseYes. The doctrine prevents the federal government from ordering state officers to administer or enforce federal programs, preserving the independence of state law-enforcement systems under the Tenth Amendment.
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An accomplice terminates liability by giving timely warning to the law-enforcement system or otherwise making proper effort to prevent the offense before it occurs.
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Yes. Counsel who removes or conceals physical evidence without lawful justification loses any privilege claim and may face criminal liability because the law-enforcement system must retain access to instrumentalities of crime.
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…in American life—state and local governments, the military, large and small businesses, labor unions, religious organizations, law enforcement, civic groups, professional organizations, and universities—have devoted substantial attention to the question. This has led to an enhanced understanding of the issue—an understanding…