Monday Memo #84: Stanford Law Professor Represents Plaintiff in Police Pursuit Case Considered by Supreme Court
By Noah Howard and Jackson Vachal
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Stanford Law Professor Represents Plaintiff in Police Pursuit Case Considered by Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case that could change the breadth of police authority when officers are pursuing suspects. The case, Lange v. California, was brought by Arthur Lange of Sonoma after he was charged with and pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. Stanford Law School Professor Jeffrey L. Fisher is representing Lange in the lawsuit. According to the case, Officer Aaron Weikert followed Lange to his home after noticing the plaintiff playing his radio at a high volume and beeping his horn unnecessarily. After turning on his siren near Lange’s home, Weikert confronted the plaintiff in his garage and became suspicious that he was intoxicated. Lange was found to have a blood alcohol content three times the legal limit for driving. After pleading no contest to a DUI charge, Lange is suing the state of California, arguing that evidence of his intoxication should not be admissible as evidence because he was pursued into his home without a warrant. Normally, a “hot pursuit” situation allows police officers pursuing someone suspected of a felony to enter a home without a warrant, but evidence suggests that Weikert only had reason to suspect Lange of committing a misdemeanor. Fisher has argued that the “hot pursuit” exemption should not be extended to include misdemeanors, claiming that such an extension would unconstitutionally increase the authority of police to enter a person’s home and property. Supreme Court justices spent two hours examining Lange’s case, hoping to generate national guidance for the limits of hot pursuit police authority. Said Fisher, Officers require “substantial discretion to analyze the situation, as the court has always said, but do require a showing of actual exigent circumstances,” Fisher said. Differences in state laws and the state of California’s decision not to defend the initial ruling have complicated the effort to create a national standard defining the extent of hot pursuit situations.
Stanford Graduate Unveils U.K. Budget
This week, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Stanford graduate Rishi Sunak (’06) unveiled the U.K.’s planned budget for 2021. Within this budget was 407 billion pounds targeted at supporting the ailing economy which has contracted 10% since the pandemic began. Sunak says that budget allows the government to continue to support businesses as well as furloughed workers through September. Moreover, Sunak has outlined how the government will begin to pay back the debt it has incurred from such extraordinary spending measures. Under a new tax plan, 10% of adults in the U.K. will join the highest income tax bracket, charging individuals 40% of income. In addition, 1.3 million of the U.K.’s poorest will begin paying taxes and the tax rate on corporate profits will increase, for the first time since 1974, from 19% to 25% by 2023 with smaller companies being exempt. The Chancellor of the Exchequer also intends to take four billion pounds from the budgets of local governments. This budget has received some sharp criticism with individuals describing it as focusing too much on the short term without reflecting on the long term implications of such spending. Other critics describe these changes as unfairly targeting the U.K.’s poorest residents who are expecting a 7% drop in income from these measures.
Susan Rice Works to Expand the Domestic Policy Council’s Role
Shortly after Joe Biden was elected this past November, the administration appointed Stanford alum Susan Rice (’86) to lead the Domestic Policy Council. The appointment came as a surprise to many, given Rice’s previous roles as national security advisor and ambassador to the U.N. during the Obama administration. After serving in these powerful, high profile international policy positions, Rice’s new position running the small Domestic Policy Council was an unexpected turn to many Washington insiders. Originally considering Rice for several national security jobs, the Biden administration decided to utilize Rice’s experience and proven abilities without subjecting her to a Senate confirmation process, fearing re-litigation of Rice’s role in the highly publicized 2012 Benghazi incident. With 40 employees, the Domestic Policy Council has traditionally been a relatively low-profile agency lacking the resources or influence of either the National Security Council or the National Economic Council. However, Rice has made it a goal to expand the agency’s breadth and impact. She convinced the Biden administration to expand the Council’s staff and funding and has appointed four senior deputies with expertise in various fields instead of the single principal deputy of the Council’s previous iterations. Working to realize the Biden administration’s liberal agenda, she has begun building relationships with union leaders, nonprofit advocacy and philanthropic organizations, and other federal agencies. Leveraging name recognition and proven organizational and policy competence, Rice is moving to take action on voting rights, community violence, and gun issues.
And in case you missed it…
‘Ableism is Real at Stanford’: Prospective Frosh Calls Out Insufficient OAE Accommodations (Nayudu | Stanford Daily)
Do Biden’s ‘Tough New Sanctions’ Give Putin Nord Stream 2? (Gregory | The Hill)
Election Integrity Partnership Releases Final Report on Mis- and Disinformation in 2020 U.S. Election (Chasnoff | Freeman Spogli Institute)
Josh Hawley, vilified for exhorting Jan. 6 protesters, is not backing down (Hakim and Plott | New York Times)
Noah Howard ’22 is pursuing majors in Economics and International Relations with a minor in Iranian Studies. Living in Washington D.C., he is currently writing a thesis about the role of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in Iranian Politics.
Jackson Vachal ’22 is pursuing majors in Political Science and Philosophy, with a focus on democratic theory. A San Francisco native, he is interested in social entrepreneurship and nonprofit advocacy work.