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Ken Wallentine

Law Enforcement and the Law

Ken Wallentine is the chief of the West Jordan (Utah) Police Department and former chief of law enforcement for the Utah Attorney General. He has served over four decades in public safety, is a legal expert and editor of Xiphos, a monthly national criminal procedure newsletter. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Death and serves as a use of force consultant in state and federal criminal and civil litigation across the nation.

LATEST ARTICLES
The Fourth Amendment doesn’t shield information individuals knowingly place into the public digital marketplace
Police generally don’t need a warrant to record activity that is publicly visible
Officers relied on administrative inspection authority for a purpose the Supreme Court had distinguished from legitimate regulatory inspections
When clearly established law is lacking, they can dispose of qualified immunity cases without deciding difficult constitutional questions
Defeating QI requires more than arguing an officer made the wrong decision
An innocent person’s shooting shows why courts judge police use of force based on what officers reasonably perceived in the moment
Courts frequently distinguish between officers who make mistakes in rapidly evolving situations and those who act with malice, dishonesty or improper motive
To the surprise of many plaintiffs, an injury doesn’t mean force was unreasonable
Ordinary Fourth Amendment principles justified a hotel room search involving firearms, hidden evidence and plain view
How a damaged ceiling tile turned an ordinary hotel room search into a practical reminder on warrant scope