Seminar Updates Officials on NJ Arrest, Search, and Seizure Laws

New Jersey-based Holtz Learning Centers provides continuing education for people working in criminal justice and other public safety fields. Holtz Learning Centers offers courses in New Jersey laws pertaining to arrests, searches, and seizures.

During the two-day class, attendants are provided with a manual of state case laws and procedures. The following are some of the seminar’s features:

-Constitutional practice: The state’s emphasis has shifted to following principles of New Federalism, and patrol police are updated on the mandatory requirement for note taking.

-Motor vehicle stops: Attendees are refreshed on the questions that are allowed when using a K-9 unit, the procedure of asking a car’s passenger to exit the vehicle, and dealing with infractions like failing to use a turn signal.

-Several situations regarding a person’s right to privacy are analyzed, including opening a door to an officer while smoking marijuana, home entry issues, responses to noise complaints, consent searches, utilizing drug dogs on a person’s front porch, and blood testing after a drunk-driving suspicion.

NJ Supreme Court Rules Police Need Warrant to Access Cell Phone Data

Holtz Learning Centers, Ltd., of Woodbine, New Jersey, runs criminal justice and law enforcement training programs for professionals currently working in or pursuing careers in these fields. Founded in 2000 by former police officer and police lawyer Larry Holtz, Holtz Learning Centers serves as a New Jersey Department of Education Professional Development Provider. On the company’s website (www.holtzlearningcenters.com), Larry Holtz keeps visitors abreast of New Jersey State statutes and laws, including the 2013 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling regarding cell phone tracking.

In 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court declared that law enforcement officers must obtain search warrants before accessing cell phone location information to track individuals. The case of State v. Earls (July 2013) reversed a previous Appellate Division judgment that ruled that citizens were afforded no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding location information transmitted by their cell phones. The justices of the state’s highest court agreed unanimously that Article I, Paragraph 7, of the New Jersey Constitution protects a person’s privacy when it comes to cell phone-transmitted location data, and they remanded the case back to the Appellate Division.

The State v. Earls case involves Thomas Earls, whom police accused of several burglaries in Middletown, New Jersey. Police acquired the location of his cell phone from service provider T-Mobile on three separate occasions, each time without first obtaining a warrant. With this information, they tracked Earls to a motel room and found the stolen goods. Earls argued that he should be afforded a reasonable expectation of privacy in regards to cell phone location data. The ruling marked the first by a state supreme court in regards to protected privacies and cell phone location data.

Holtz Learning Centers’ NJ Arrest, Search & Seizure Case Law Course

Led by a longtime New Jersey law enforcement officer, the Holtz Learning Centers offer professionals and students throughout the state dedicated training in public safety and criminal justice. One of Holtz Learning Centers’ popular offerings is a continuing education seminar titled NJ Laws of Arrest, Search & Seizure Case Law Review & Update. This course provides lawyers and police officers with critical information on the latest developments in topics from search warrants to investigative detentions.

The two-day seminar takes a close look at U.S. and New Jersey Supreme Court decisions, as well as appellate court rulings on issues such as motor vehicle stops and “stop & frisk” activities. Other coursework explores the distinction between trespassing and loitering, and regulations guiding entry to a residence during “knock & talk” inquiries. New Jersey officials have selected the seminar as the year’s most important course, with its “comprehensive refresher” approach particularly vital for officers who have not reviewed search and seizure protocol in a number of years. To learn more about this and other continuing education programs, visit http://www.holtzlearningcenters.com.