One Free Swerve? Requiring Police to Corroborate Anonymous Tips in Order to Establish Reasonable Suspicion for Warrantless Seizure of Alleged Drunk Drivers

The Supreme Court holds that warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable. Nonetheless, the Court has carved out exceptions that give law enforcement officials considerable flexibility with which to conduct their day-to-day criminal investigations. One such exception to the warrant requirement is that police may stop and question an individual so long as the detaining officer has a reasonable belief that criminal activity may be taking place. Furthermore, the Court permits this requisite reasonable suspicion to be based on information provided by third-party sources, and has identified specific limits as to the type and quality of information police may use. In Florida v. J.L., the Court unanimously recognized such a limit, finding that reasonable suspicion cannot be based exclusively on a bare-boned anonymous tip. Consequently, the Court established an evidentiary baseline for all future police detentions: in order to use third-party information as the basis for a stop or search, police must first ascertain the informant’s reliability by either discovering the tipster’s identity or verifying sufficient predictive information related to the alleged crime. A reasonable suspicion to detain the subject of the tip can only be formed through independent investigation of the alleged criminal activity. Nevertheless, the Court complicated this general rule by hypothesizing that police might be able to act on a lesser showing of reliability when an anonymous tip alleges a sufficiently great danger, but subsequently declined to expound on what circumstances would present such an extreme danger. Consequently, the Court left unanswered what set of facts would warrant using a bare-boned anonymous tip as the sole basis for initiating a seizure and search. In particular, court decisions involving anonymous tips that allege potentially intoxicated motorists, reveal substantial disagreement as to the role these anonymous tips should play in an officer’s decision to initiate a traffic stop. This issue recently gained national attention when the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari to hear Virginia v. Harris. In that case, a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) conviction was overturned because the arresting officer stopped the defendant’s vehicle solely on the basis of an anonymous tip without corroborating suspicious behavior. In an impassioned dissent from the denial of certiorari, Chief Justice Roberts argued that both the frequency and deadliness of drunk driving accidents might justify allowing stops of allegedly intoxicated motorists solely on the basis of a bare anonymous tip, without corroboration of the tip’s criminal allegations. He contended that declining to hear Harris was effectively giving drunk drivers “one free swerve” before police could initiate a stop, inevitably endangering countless lives. Despite the denial of certiorari, this issue is ripe for review and should be heard to conform this divisive issue to the correct interpretation of the law. In order to establish the reasonable suspicion necessary to initiate an investigatory traffic stop, police should be required to corroborate beyond readily observable innocent details of an anonymous tip alleging erratic driving. Considerable Supreme Court precedent related to warrantless seizures implies that police cannot rely solely on an anonymous tip alleging drunk driving if the tip provides no means to establish the informant’s reliability. Moreover, the threat posed by a potentially intoxicated motorist is inconsistent with the extraordinary danger exception suggested in Florida v. J.L. In Part I of his paper, the author examines the historical development of Fourth Amendment case law as it relates to the use of anonymous tips by law enforcement. Part II addresses how these precedents apply in the context of investigatory traffic stops of allegedly intoxicated motorists, and examines the reasoning of jurisdictions on either side of the issue. Part III presents an analysis of the issue and argues that police must corroborate beyond just innocent information provided by an anonymous tip of dangerous driving. Finally, Part IV concludes by recommending that the appropriate focus should be on reducing the anonymity of anonymous reports of erratic driving, rather than constructing exceptions for such tips under the Fourth Amendment. The author also recommends that the Supreme Court should hear this issue to resolve this discrepancy and provide a uniform law consistent with the traditional application of the Fourth Amendment: when law enforcement cannot establish a caller’s credibility, they should be required to take the relatively minor step of corroborating the allegation to ensure there is a reasonable basis for a seizure before initiating an investigatory traffic stop

One Free Swerve? Requiring Police to Corroborate Anonymous Tips in Order to Establish Reasonable Suspicion for Warrantless Seizure of Alleged Drunk Drivers

The Supreme Court holds that warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable. Nonetheless, the Court has carved out exceptions that give law enforcement officials considerable flexibility with which to conduct their day-to-day criminal investigations. One such exception to the warrant requirement is that police may stop and question an individual so long as the detaining officer has a reasonable belief that criminal activity may be taking place. Furthermore, the Court permits this requisite reasonable suspicion to be based on information provided by third-party sources, and has identified specific limits as to the type and quality of information police may use. In Florida v. J.L., the Court unanimously recognized such a limit, finding that reasonable suspicion cannot be based exclusively on a bare-boned anonymous tip. Consequently, the Court established an evidentiary baseline for all future police detentions: in order to use third-party information as the basis for a stop or search, police must first ascertain the informant’s reliability by either discovering the tipster’s identity or verifying sufficient predictive information related to the alleged crime. A reasonable suspicion to detain the subject of the tip can only be formed through independent investigation of the alleged criminal activity. Nevertheless, the Court complicated this general rule by hypothesizing that police might be able to act on a lesser showing of reliability when an anonymous tip alleges a sufficiently great danger, but subsequently declined to expound on what circumstances would present such an extreme danger. Consequently, the Court left unanswered what set of facts would warrant using a bare-boned anonymous tip as the sole basis for initiating a seizure and search. In particular, court decisions involving anonymous tips that allege potentially intoxicated motorists, reveal substantial disagreement as to the role these anonymous tips should play in an officer’s decision to initiate a traffic stop. This issue recently gained national attention when the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari to hear Virginia v. Harris. In that case, a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) conviction was overturned because the arresting officer stopped the defendant’s vehicle solely on the basis of an anonymous tip without corroborating suspicious behavior. In an impassioned dissent from the denial of certiorari, Chief Justice Roberts argued that both the frequency and deadliness of drunk driving accidents might justify allowing stops of allegedly intoxicated motorists solely on the basis of a bare anonymous tip, without corroboration of the tip’s criminal allegations. He contended that declining to hear Harris was effectively giving drunk drivers “one free swerve” before police could initiate a stop, inevitably endangering countless lives. Despite the denial of certiorari, this issue is ripe for review and should be heard to conform this divisive issue to the correct interpretation of the law. In order to establish the reasonable suspicion necessary to initiate an investigatory traffic stop, police should be required to corroborate beyond readily observable innocent details of an anonymous tip alleging erratic driving. Considerable Supreme Court precedent related to warrantless seizures implies that police cannot rely solely on an anonymous tip alleging drunk driving if the tip provides no means to establish the informant’s reliability. Moreover, the threat posed by a potentially intoxicated motorist is inconsistent with the extraordinary danger exception suggested in Florida v. J.L. In Part I of his paper, the author examines the historical development of Fourth Amendment case law as it relates to the use of anonymous tips by law enforcement. Part II addresses how these precedents apply in the context of investigatory traffic stops of allegedly intoxicated motorists, and examines the reasoning of jurisdictions on either side of the issue. Part III presents an analysis of the issue and argues that police must corroborate beyond just innocent information provided by an anonymous tip of dangerous driving. Finally, Part IV concludes by recommending that the appropriate focus should be on reducing the anonymity of anonymous reports of erratic driving, rather than constructing exceptions for such tips under the Fourth Amendment. The author also recommends that the Supreme Court should hear this issue to resolve this discrepancy and provide a uniform law consistent with the traditional application of the Fourth Amendment: when law enforcement cannot establish a caller’s credibility, they should be required to take the relatively minor step of corroborating the allegation to ensure there is a reasonable basis for a seizure before initiating an investigatory traffic stop

Anharmonicity-induced isostructural phase transition of Zirconium under pressure

We have performed a detailed x-ray diffraction structural study of Zr under pressure and unambiguously identify the existence of a first-order isostructural bcc-to-bcc phase transition near 58 GPa. First-principles quantum molecular dynamics lattice dynamics calculations support the existence of this phase transition, in excellent agreement with experimental results, triggered by anharmonic effects. Our results highlight the potential ubiquity of anharmonically driven isostructural transitions within the periodic table under pressure and calls for follow-up experimental and theoretical studies

Electron rescattering at metal nanotips induced by ultrashort laser pulses

We report on the first investigation of plateau and cut-off structures in photoelectron spectra from nano-scale metal tips interacting with few-cycle near-infrared laser pulses. These hallmarks of electron rescattering, well-known from atom-laser interaction in the strong-field regime, appear at remarkably low laser intensities with nominal Keldysh parameters of the order of $\gtrsim 10$. Quantum and quasi-classical simulations reveal that a large field enhancement near the tip and the increased backscattering probability at a solid-state target play a key role. Plateau electrons are by an order of magnitude more abundant than in comparable atomic spectra, reflecting the high density of target atoms at the surface. The position of the cut-off serves as an in-situ probe for the locally enhanced electric field at the tip apex

O-mannosyl phosphorylation of alpha-dystroglycan is required for laminin binding.

Alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-DG) is a cell-surface glycoprotein that acts as a receptor for both extracellular matrix proteins containing laminin-G domains and certain arenaviruses. Receptor binding is thought to be mediated by a posttranslational modification, and defective binding with laminin underlies a subclass of congenital muscular dystrophy. Using mass spectrometry- and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based structural analyses, we identified a phosphorylated O-mannosyl glycan on the mucin-like domain of recombinant alpha-DG, which was required for laminin binding. We demonstrated that patients with muscle-eye-brain disease and Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy, as well as mice with myodystrophy, commonly have defects in a postphosphoryl modification of this phosphorylated O-linked mannose, and that this modification is mediated by the like-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (LARGE) protein. These findings expand our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie congenital muscular dystrophy

Functional Glycosylation of Dystroglycan Is Crucial for Thymocyte Development in the Mouse

BACKGROUND: Alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-DG) is a cell surface receptor providing a molecular link between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the actin-based cytoskeleton. During its biosynthesis, alpha-DG undergoes specific and unusual O-glycosylation crucial for its function as a high-affinity cellular receptor for ECM proteins. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report that expression of functionally glycosylated alpha-DG during thymic development is tightly regulated in developing T cells and largely confined to CD4(-)CD8(-) double negative (DN) thymocytes. Ablation of DG in T cells had no effect on proliferation, migration or effector function but did reduce the size of the thymus due to a significant loss in absolute numbers of thymocytes. While numbers of DN thymocytes appeared normal, a marked reduction in CD4(+)CD8(+) double positive (DP) thymocytes occurred. In the periphery mature naïve T cells deficient in DG showed both normal proliferation in response to allogeneic cells and normal migration, effector and memory T cell function when tested in acute infection of mice with either lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) or influenza virus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study demonstrates that DG function is modulated by glycosylation during T cell development in vivo and that DG is essential for normal development and differentiation of T cells

Freshwater monitoring by nanopore sequencing.

While traditional microbiological freshwater tests focus on the detection of specific bacterial indicator species, including pathogens, direct tracing of all aquatic DNA through metagenomics poses a profound alternative. Yet, in situ metagenomic water surveys face substantial challenges in cost and logistics. Here, we present a simple, fast, cost-effective and remotely accessible freshwater diagnostics workflow centred around the portable nanopore sequencing technology. Using defined compositions and spatiotemporal microbiota from surface water of an example river in Cambridge (UK), we provide optimised experimental and bioinformatics guidelines, including a benchmark with twelve taxonomic classification tools for nanopore sequences. We find that nanopore metagenomics can depict the hydrological core microbiome and fine temporal gradients in line with complementary physicochemical measurements. In a public health context, these data feature relevant sewage signals and pathogen maps at species level resolution. We anticipate that this framework will gather momentum for new environmental monitoring initiatives using portable devices

Validation of the SNACOR clinical scoring system after transarterial chemoembolisation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background Transarterial chemoembolisation is the standard of care for intermediate stage (BCLC B) hepatocellular carcinoma, but it is challenging to decide when to repeat or stop treatment. Here we performed the first external validation of the SNACOR (tumour Size and Number, baseline Alpha-fetoprotein, Child-Pugh and Objective radiological Response) risk prediction model. Methods A total of 1030 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma underwent transarterial chemoembolisation at our tertiary referral centre from January 2000 to December 2016. We determined the following variables that were needed to calculate the SNACOR at baseline: tumour size and number, alpha-fetoprotein level, Child-Pugh class, and objective radiological response after the first transarterial chemoembolisation. Overall survival, time-dependent area under receiver-operating characteristic curves, Harrell’s C-index, and the integrated Brier score were calculated to assess predictive ability. Finally, multivariate analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of survival. Results The study included 268 patients. Low, intermediate, and high SNACOR scores predicted a median survival of 31.5, 19.9, and 9.2 months, respectively. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for overall survival were 0.641, 0.633, and 0.609 at 1, 3, and 6 years, respectively. Harrell’s C-index was 0.59, and the integrated Brier Score was 0.175. Independent predictors of survival included tumour size (P < 0.001), baseline alpha-fetoprotein level (P < 0.001) and Child-Pugh class (P < 0.004). Objective radiological response (P = 0.821) and tumour number (P = 0.127) were not additional independent predictors of survival. Conclusions The SNACOR risk prediction model can be used to identify patients with a dismal prognosis after the first transarterial chemoembolisation who are unlikely to benefit from further transarterial chemoembolisation. However, Harrell’s C-index showed only moderate performance. Accordingly, this risk prediction model can only serve as one of several components used to make the decision about whether to repeat treatment

Freshwater monitoring by nanopore sequencing.

While traditional microbiological freshwater tests focus on the detection of specific bacterial indicator species, including pathogens, direct tracing of all aquatic DNA through metagenomics poses a profound alternative. Yet, in situ metagenomic water surveys face substantial challenges in cost and logistics. Here, we present a simple, fast, cost-effective and remotely accessible freshwater diagnostics workflow centred around the portable nanopore sequencing technology. Using defined compositions and spatiotemporal microbiota from surface water of an example river in Cambridge (UK), we provide optimised experimental and bioinformatics guidelines, including a benchmark with twelve taxonomic classification tools for nanopore sequences. We find that nanopore metagenomics can depict the hydrological core microbiome and fine temporal gradients in line with complementary physicochemical measurements. In a public health context, these data feature relevant sewage signals and pathogen maps at species level resolution. We anticipate that this framework will gather momentum for new environmental monitoring initiatives using portable devices

The Energy Landscape, Folding Pathways and the Kinetics of a Knotted Protein

The folding pathway and rate coefficients of the folding of a knotted protein are calculated for a potential energy function with minimal energetic frustration. A kinetic transition network is constructed using the discrete path sampling approach, and the resulting potential energy surface is visualized by constructing disconnectivity graphs. Owing to topological constraints, the low-lying portion of the landscape consists of three distinct regions, corresponding to the native knotted state and to configurations where either the N- or C-terminus is not yet folded into the knot. The fastest folding pathways from denatured states exhibit early formation of the N-terminus portion of the knot and a rate-determining step where the C-terminus is incorporated. The low-lying minima with the N-terminus knotted and the C-terminus free therefore constitute an off-pathway intermediate for this model. The insertion of both the N- and C-termini into the knot occur late in the folding process, creating large energy barriers that are the rate limiting steps in the folding process. When compared to other protein folding proteins of a similar length, this system folds over six orders of magnitude more slowly.Comment: 19 page