Principles of the Law,

Policing

This project tackles some of the hardest questions, where courts, legislatures, and police are most in need of guidance. This project includes principles on Search and Seizure, Police Encounters, Use of Force, Evidence Gathering, and Police Questioning, among others.
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Status Details

At the 2022 Annual Meeting, the membership voted to approve Tentative Draft No. 4, marking the completion of this project. Preparation of the official text is in progress.

Tentative Draft No. 4 contained material from Chapter 1, General Principles of Sound Policing; Chapter 4, Police Encounters; Chapter 9, Forensic-Evidence Gathering; Chapter 12, Informants and Undercover Agents; and Chapter 14, Role of Other Actors in Promoting Sound Policing.

At the 2021 Annual Meeting, the membership voted to approve Tentative Draft No. 3, which contains additions to Chapter 1, General Principles of Sound Policing; Chapter 2, General Principles of Searches, Seizures, and Information Gathering; Chapter 3, Policing with Individualized Suspicion; Chapter 5, Policing in the Absence of Individualized Suspicion; Chapter 6, Policing Databases; Chapter 8, General Principles for Collecting and Preserving Reliable Evidence for the Adjudicative Process; Chapter 9, Forensic-Evidence Gathering; and Chapter 13, Promoting Sound Policing Within Agencies.

The membership has approved Chapters on Use of Force, Police Encounters, Eyewitness Identification, and Police Questioning.

All draft approvals are subject to the discussion at the meeting and usual editorial prerogative.

For an in-depth description of this project, please visit the Policing page of the The ALI Adviser.

Project Video
Project Reporter Barry Friedman discusses the project in this short video:

Reporter
Barry Friedman New York University School of Law
New York, NY
Associate Reporters
Brandon L. Garrett Duke University School of Law
Durham, NC
Rachel A. Harmon University of Virginia School of Law
Charlottesville, VA
Tracey L. Meares Yale Law School
New Haven, CT
Maria Ponomarenko University of Texas at Austin School of Law
Austin, TX
Christopher Slobogin Vanderbilt University Law School
Nashville, TN
Project Fellow
Christy E. Lopez Georgetown Law Center
Washington, DC
Advisers
Art Acevedo City of Miami Police Department
Miami, FL
Hassan Aden The Aden Group
Alexandria, VA
Scott Bales Arizona Supreme Court (Retired)
Phoenix, AZ
Michael Bosworth Latham & Watkins LLP
New York, NY
Richard F. Boulware, II U.S. District Court, District of Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
Michael R. Bromwich Steptoe LLP
Washington, DC
Brian Buchner National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement
Tucson, AZ
David Cole American Civil Liberties Union
New York, NY
Gregg Costa Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Houston, TX
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar Carnegie Endowment for Int'l Peace
Menlo Park, CA
Michael A. Davis Northeastern University
Boston, MA
Brandon del Pozo Miriam Hospital, Infectious Diseases Department
Providence, RI
Adrian Diaz Seattle Police Department
Seattle, WA
James M. Doyle Bassil & Budreau
Boston, MA
Zachary T. Fardon United State's Attorney's Office Northern District of Illinois
Chicago, IL
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson American University, Washington College of Law
Washington, DC
Kenneth C. Frazier Merck & Co., Inc.
Rahway, NJ
George Gascon Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
Los Angeles, CA
Mitchell S. Goldberg U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Robert C. Haas Cambridge Police (formerly)
Dover, MA
William C. Hubbard University of South Carolina School of Law
Columbia, SC
Sherrilyn Ifill Howard Law School
Washington, DC
Craig Iscoe Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Adalberto J. Jordan U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Miami, FL
Nola Joyce Philadelphia Police Department (Retired)
Philadelphia, PA
Orin S. Kerr University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley, CA
Miriam A. Krinsky Fair and Just Prosecution
Los Angeles, CA
David Kris Culper Partners LLC
Mercer Island, WA
Raymond J. Lohier, Jr. U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
New York, NY
Cynthia Lum George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
John G. Malcolm The Heritage Foundation
Washington, DC
Anne M. Milgram New York University School of Law
New York, NY
Sylvia M. Moir Marin County Sheriff's Office
Tempe, AZ
Alexandra Natapoff Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA
Clark M. Neily CATO Institute
Washington, DC
Brittany Packnett Campaign Zero
Florissant, MO
Samantha Pailca Microsoft, Corp.
Redmond, WA
Sue Rahr Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (Retired)
Seattle, WA
Charles H. Ramsey Philadelphia Police Department (Retired)
Philadelphia, PA
Henry R. Reeve Denver District Attorney's Office (Retired)
Denver, CO
Norman L. Reimer Fair Trials
New York, NY
Gary L. Sasso Carlton Fields P.A.
Tampa, FL
Joanna C. Schwartz University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Los Angeles, CA
Darpana Sheth Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
Philadelphia, PA
Samuel Sinyangwe Campaign Zero
New York, NY
Stephen Wm. Smith Stanford Law School, Center for Internet and Society
Palo Alto, CA
Sean Smoot Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Association
Springfield, IL
Christopher Soghoian Office of Senator Ron Wyden
Washington, DC
Darrel Stephens Major Cities Chiefs Police Association
Charlotte, NC
Geoffrey R. Stone University of Chicago Law School
Chicago, IL
Seth W. Stoughton University of South Carolina School of Law
Columbia, SC
Frank Sullivan, Jr. Indiana University, Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, IN
J. Scott Thomson Camden County Police Department (Retired)
Camden, NJ
Nina Vinik Project Unloaded
Chicago, IL
Samuel Walker University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE
Robert Wasserman Jensen Hughes
Chicago, IL
Andrew Weissmann New York University School of Law
New York, NY
Harlan Yu Upturn, Inc.
Washington, DC
Liaison
Jim Burch Police Foundation
Washington, DC
Members Consultative Group
Raheemah F. Abdulaleem Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration
Washington, DC
Raquel E. Aldana University of California, Davis School of Law
Davis, CA
Ronald J. Allen Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Chicago, IL
Elizabeth A. Andersen World Justice Project
Washington, DC
James M. Anderson RAND Corporation
Pittsburgh, PA
José F. Anderson University of Baltimore School of Law
Baltimore, MD
David J. Aronofsky The University of Montana (Retired)
Missoula, MT
Donald B. Ayer Mc Lean, VA
Michael F. Aylward Morrison Mahoney LLP
Boston, MA
Miriam H. Baer Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn, NY
Nannette A. Baker U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
Saint Louis, MO
Susan A. Bandes DePaul University College of Law
Chicago, IL
William W. Barrett Williams Barrett & Wilkowski, LLP
Greenwood, IN
Debra Lyn Bassett Southwestern Law School
Sacramento, CA
Mira Baylson Pennsylvania Department of State
Harrisburg, PA
Stephanos Bibas U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Philadelphia, PA
Ronald G. Blum Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
New York, NY
Andrew S. Boutros Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
Chicago, IL
Steven M. Bradford HNI Corporation
Muscatine, IA
Peter Bray U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
Houston, TX
David M. Brodsky Brodsky ADR LLC
Wainscott, NY
John K. Bush U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Louisville, KY
Jean-Jacques Cabou Perkins Coie LLP
Phoenix, AZ
J. William Callison Holland & Hart LLP
Denver, CO
Elena A. Cappella Philadelphia, PA
Catherine L. Carpenter Southwestern Law School
Los Angeles, CA
W. Tucker Carrington The University of Mississippi School of Law
Oxford, MS
Jenny E. Carroll Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX
Nicole B. Casarez University of St. Thomas
Evergreen, CO
Jennifer Marie Chacón Stanford Law School
Stanford, CA
Henry L. Chambers, Jr. University of Richmond School of Law
Richmond, VA
Steven L. Chanenson Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
Villanova, PA
Edmond E. Chang U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Chicago, IL
Kami Chavis William & Mary Law School
Winston Salem, NC
Gabriel J. Chin University of California, Davis School of Law
Davis, CA
Colm F. Connolly U.S. District Court, District of Delaware
Wilmington, DE
Thomas L. Cubbage, III The Center for American and International Law
Plano, TX
Beverly Winslow Cutler Alaska Superior Court, Third Judicial District
Palmer, AK
Kelly Dermody Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
San Francisco, CA
Albert Diaz U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Charlotte, NC
Bernice Bouie Donald Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC
Memphis, TN
Michael R. Dreeben U.S.Department of Justice
Washington, DC
Joshua Dressler The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH
Ronald Eisenberg Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office
Philadelphia, PA
Ilana H. Eisenstein DLA Piper US LLP
Philadelphia, PA
J. William Elwin, Jr. Novus Law LLC
Chicago, IL
Anne S. Emanuel Georgia State University College of Law (Retired)
Atlanta, GA
Anthony C. Epstein Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Katie R. Eyer Rutgers Law School
Camden, NJ
Roger A. Fairfax, Jr. Howard University School of Law
Washington, DC
Mary D. Fan University of Washington School of Law
Seattle, WA
Kimberly Kessler Ferzan University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Philadelphia, PA
Daniel M. Filler Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law
Philadelphia, PA
Gerald M. Finkel Finkel Law Firm LLC
Charleston, SC
Matthew L.M. Fletcher University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, MI
Mary Anne Franks George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC
Eric M. Freedman Hofstra University School of Law
Hempstead, NY
Paul L. Friedman U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Kenneth S. Gallant University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law (Retired)
Sequim, WA
Richard W. Garnett Notre Dame Law School
Notre Dame, IN
Nicholas L. Georgakopoulos Indiana University, Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, IN
Daniel C. Girard Girard Sharp LLP
San Francisco, CA
Dorothy J. Glancy Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara, CA
Christopher S. Gontarz Lynch & Pine
Newport, RI
Hervé Gouraige Sills Cummis & Gross P.C.
Newark, NJ
David C. Gray University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law
Baltimore, MD
Michael Z. Green Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX
I. Michael Greenberger University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law
Baltimore, MD
Linda Sheryl Greene Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, MI
Michael Greenwald Philadelphia, PA
Charles E. Griffin Butler Snow LLP
Ridgeland, MS
Lisa Kern Griffin Duke University School of Law
Durham, NC
John J. Grogan Langer, Grogan & Diver, P.C.
Philadelphia, PA
Aya Gruber University of Southern California, Gould School of Law
Los Angeles, CA
John O. Haley Washington University School of Law (Retired)
Tucson, AZ
Ronald J. Hedges Ronald J. Hedges LLC
Hackensack, NJ
Ronald K. Henry Arnold & Porter (Retired)
Washington, DC
Christina Michelle Houston DLA Piper US LLP
Wilmington, DE
Wesley L. Hsu U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Los Angeles, CA
Edwin E. Huddleson Washington, DC
Herman N. Johnson, Jr. U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
Huntsville, AL
Richard Gibbs Johnson RGJ LLC
Cleveland, OH
Peter A. Joy Washington University School of Law
Saint Louis, MO
Andrew W. Jurs University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Sacramento, CA
Joshua Karsh Mehri & Skalet, PLLC
Evanston, IL
Robert R. Keatinge Holland & Hart LLP
Denver, CO
Orin S. Kerr University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley, CA
Cecelia M. Klingele University of Wisconsin Law School
Madison, WI
Joseph P. Klock, Jr. Rasco Klock Perez Nieto
Coral Gables, FL
Michael J. Kramer Noble Circuit Court
Albion, IN
Cheryl A. Krause U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Philadelphia, PA
Erin C. Lagesen Oregon Court of Appeals
Salem, OR
Máximo Langer University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Los Angeles, CA
Peter F. Langrock Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP
Middlebury, VT
William J. Leahy NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services (Retired)
Albany, NY
Peter E. Leckman Langer, Grogan & Diver, P.C.
Philadelphia, PA
Bill Lann Lee Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center
Berkeley, CA
Cynthia K. Lee George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC
Andrew D. Leipold University of Illinois College of Law
Champaign, IL
Benjamin Lerner Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas (Retired)
Philadelphia, PA
Wayne A. Logan Florida State University College of Law
Tallahassee, FL
Margaret Colgate Love Law Office of Margaret Love
Washington, DC
Houston Putnam Lowry Ford & Paulekas, LLP
Hartford, CT
Erik Luna Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Phoenix, AZ
C. Scott Maravilla U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
Washington, DC
Justin F. Marceau University of Denver, Sturm College of Law
Denver, CO
Paul Marcus William & Mary Law School
Williamsburg, VA
David Charles Mason Missouri Circuit Court, 22nd Judicial Circuit
Saint Louis, MO
Mary Massaron Plunkett Cooney, P.C.
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Alfred D. Mathewson University of New Mexico School of Law
Albuquerque, NM
James R. Maxeiner University of Baltimore School of Law (Retired)
Bronxville, NY
Jason Mazzone University of Illinois College of Law
Champaign, IL
Barbara A. McDermott Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Michael H. McGinley Dechert LLP
Philadelphia, PA
James C. McKay, Jr. Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Theodore A. McKee U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Philadelphia, PA
Joseph McLaughlin Sidley Austin LLP (Retired)
New York, NY
Benjamin C. McMurray Utah Federal Defender Office
Salt Lake City, UT
Marjorie A. Meyers Federal Public Defender's Office, Southern District of Texas
Houston, TX
Darrell A.H. Miller University of Chicago Law School
Chicago, IL
Natasha Minsker Minsker Consulting
Sacramento, CA
S. David Mitchell University of Missouri School of Law
Columbia, MO
Jennifer L. Mnookin University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI
Paul Mogin Williams & Connolly LLP (Retired)
Chevy Chase, MD
Paul W. Mollica Equip for Equality
Chicago, IL
Kimberly J. Mueller U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
Sacramento, CA
Richard L. Neumeier Morrison Mahoney LLP (Retired)
Boston, MA
Michael M. O'Hear Marquette University Law School
Milwaukee, WI
Wendy L. Patrick County of San Diego District Attorney's Office
San Diego, CA
David E. Patton Hecker Fink LLP
New York, NY
Brian J. Paul Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Indianapolis, IN
Mary Margaret Penrose Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX
Lucian T. Pera Adams and Reese LLP
Memphis, TN
Kristina Pickering Supreme Court of Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
W. Michel Pierson Maryland Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Baltimore, MD
Ellen S. Podgor Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL
Gerald S. Reamey St. Mary's University School of Law
San Antonio, TX
Noelle M. Reed Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Houston, TX
Judith Resnik Yale Law School
New Haven, CT
L. Song Richardson University of California, Irvine School of Law
Irvine, CA
Sarah E. Ricks Rutgers Law School
Camden, NJ
Alice Ristroph Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn, NY
Ira P. Robbins American University, Washington College of Law
Bethesda, MD
Julie A. Robinson U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
Kansas City, KS
Paul H. Robinson University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Philadelphia, PA
Rod J. Rosenstein King & Spalding LLP
Washington, DC
Jack M. Sabatino Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division
Trenton, NJ
Janet L. Sanders Massachusetts Superior Court
Boston, MA
Jon M. Sands District of Arizona
Phoenix, AZ
Lynn Hecht Schafran Legal Momentum
New York, NY
Richard Henry Seamon University of Idaho College of Law
Moscow, ID
Matthew R. Segal American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Boston, MA
Sudha Narayana Setty City University of New York School of Law
Long Island City, NY
Morris Silberman Florida Second District Court of Appeal
Tampa, FL
Kenneth W. Simons University of California, Irvine School of Law
Irvine, CA
Wenona T. Singel Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, MI
Duston J. Slinkard U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Kansas
Topeka, KS
Virginia E. Sloan Chevy Chase, MD
Jonathan M. Smith Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Washington, DC
Carl L. Solomon Solomon Law Group
Columbia, SC
David A. Sonenshein Temple University Beasley School of Law
Philadelphia, PA
Arthur B. Spitzer American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Amy J. St. Eve U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Chicago, IL
Jeffrey W. Stempel University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
Las Vegas, NV
Karen L. Stevenson U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Los Angeles, CA
H. Mark Stichel RKW Law Group
Baltimore, MD
Elizabeth S. Stong U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York
Brooklyn, NY
Dean A. Strang Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Chicago, IL
Guy Miller Struve Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Retired)
New York, NY
Jeannie Suk Gersen Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA
Frank Sullivan, Jr. Indiana University, Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, IN
John S. Summers Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller
Philadelphia, PA
Mary Ellen Tabor Iowa Court of Appeals
Des Moines, IA
Jerome T. Tao Nevada Court of Appeals
Las Vegas, NV
Ethan V. Torrey Supreme Court of the United States
Washington, DC
Michael Troncoso Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
San Diego, CA
Paul J. Van de Graaf U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Vermont
Burlington, VT
Michael Vitiello University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Sacramento, CA
Frederick William (Bill) Wagner Wagner McLaughlin, P.A. (Retired)
Tampa, FL
Howard M. Wasserman Florida International University College of Law
Miami, FL
Sarah N. Welling University of Kentucky, J. David Rosenberg College of Law
Lexington, KY
Nancy A. Welsh Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX
Ken Wise Fourteenth Court of Appeals
Houston, TX
Robin E. Wosje The Justice Management Institute
Arlington, VA
Benjamin C. Zipursky Fordham University School of Law
New York, NY