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Ken Wallentine

Law Enforcement and the Law

Ken Wallentine is a former police 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
first-amendment-police-retaliation.png
Legal
When politics and police enforcement collide
Police officers and supervisors should take special care to enforce the law impartially, especially during election season
October 31, 2026 10:49 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Police Dog Searching a Vehicle
Legal
A second bite at the apple: Two stops, one dog and the traffic-stop clock
A dog sniff may occur during a traffic stop, but without independent, reasonable suspicion, it may not add time
October 26, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Aged man in pajamas walks on a home in the night
Legal
Sexsomnia, sleepwalking and other strange tales
Don’t roll your eyes — just document the facts
October 21, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
The girl looks into the phone with a magnifying glass, search concept
Legal
Searching cell phones: Warrants, scope and plain view
If evidence of another crime is discovered in a lawful search, the Fourth Amendment does not require you to ignore it
October 19, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
After Chatrie GettyImages-490474064.png
Legal
When the camera becomes a tracker: ALPRs after Chatrie
When does a collection of individually lawful public observations become a constitutionally significant record of a person’s movements?
October 14, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Collective knowledge GettyImages-1299371357.png
Legal
Collective knowledge, not collective guessing: Reasonable suspicion and the fellow-officer rule
Officers investigating jointly may combine the facts each has learned, and an investigator’s reasonable suspicion or probable cause can justify another’s stop, search or arrest
October 12, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Burglary
Legal
Supreme Court puts geofence warrants inside the Fourth Amendment
Law enforcement conducts a Fourth Amendment search when it obtains historical cellphone location information from a third-party provider, the court ruled
October 05, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Professional Protester
Legal
Contempt of cop is not active resistance
Force is not a tool for correcting bad manners, settling an argument or responding to disrespect
October 01, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Police officer searching car trunk on highway traffic stop daylight
Legal
Vehicle inventory searches depend on clear policies
A well-written policy establishes legitimate objectives, identifies when authority may be exercised, defines its scope and places reasonable limits on officer discretion
September 29, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Night Establishing Shot: Empty Crime Scene in Back Alley. Covered Victim's Body on the Floor with Marked Evidence. Paramedics, Police and Forensics are on Site. Do-not-Cross Tape Restricting the Area
Legal
The threat does not disappear between shots
The knife had been dropped — but that wasn’t all a deputy could consider
September 17, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine