WHAT IS THE LAW ENFORCEMENT LEGAL

REPORTER?

Peace Officers: your professionalism, promotions and protection against civil liability depend upon your knowledge of criminal law. The Law Enforcement Legal Reporter is easy to read and will keep you informed of the latest case decisions.

The Law Enforcement Legal Reporter (LELR) is a 20-25 page monthly e-mail publication summarizing the latest criminal case decisions of the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the California Supreme Court and California Courts of Appeal. The Law Enforcement Legal Reporter applies these case decisions to the daily activities of street level peace officers and detectives and covers such topics as search and seizure, auto stops, detentions, arrests, Miranda, confessions, collection of evidence, weapons, crime charging, civil liability and many others. A typical issue contains summaries of three to six cases. Occasionally, an issue is devoted to a single topic, e.g., Identify Theft and Police Use of Deadly Force.

Occasionally, older cases of special significance are summarized if it appears that peace officers, prosecutors and judges have either forgotten the case or do not recall its exact holding. For example, the landmark "detention" case of Terry v. Ohio was summarized in a recent issue as was the landmark "consensual encounter" case of Florida v. Bostick. A couple of other old cases summarized in recent issues include People v. Twiggs, whereby victims whose identity is unknown can be listed in charging documents as John or Jane Doe and In re Alejandro where a peace officer was the victim of a PC 415 offense. These cases are important, and yet police and prosecutors often have no knowledge of them - unless they read the LELR.

Peace Officers: Why Do You Need The Law Enforcement Legal Reporter?

Your professional career depends upon your knowledge of the criminal law. Knowledge of the most recent developments in the law will help you be the best peace officer you can be. Many recent case decisions dealing with search and seizure and confessions take a much more pro-law enforcement view than in the past. You need to know these decisions so that you can take advantage of them in fighting crime. Personal civil liability is of great concern to officers now that civil lawsuits are routinely filed against even the best officers. Knowledge of the law will assist you in avoiding mistakes that might subject you to personal civil liability. Promotional examinations often have questions derived from recent case decisions. Knowledge of these decisions will give your examination scores a major boost.

The Law Enforcement Legal Reporter (LELR) will keep you informed of recent case decisions of importance to peace officers. The LELR is written in clear and straightforward language. Each decision is broken down into its Facts, the Ruling and Reasoning of the Court, and the case's Application to Police Work. It is clear, concise and complete. You can read it, and you will understand it. The factual setting of each summarized case is set forth so that readers can grasp the practical significance of the court's decision and its application to everyday police work. It is written for peace officers by retired Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Richard J. Chrystie who has worked with peace officers for over 40 years.

Prosecutors - Criminal Defense Attorneys - Private Attorneys - Judges

The Law Enforcement Legal Reporter (LELR) is directed primarily towards patrol officers and detectives. But it is also of great value to supervisors, training officers, prosecutors, private criminal attorneys and judges who need to keep up to date on criminal law. It is also of great value to private attorneys representing peace officers and police agencies who are being sued in civil court for alleged constitutional violations. Thousands of law enforcement professionals have subscribed to and benefited from the LELR over its 34 years of continuous publication. Many law enforcement agencies and academies use it in their training programs.

The Law Enforcement Legal Reporter will be sent to your e-mail address monthly at a rate of $39.50 for one year (12 issues) or $69.50 for two years (24 issues). This is a small price to pay for the benefits to your professional career and the protection against civil liability that you will gain from reading the Law Enforcement Legal Reporter.

The Law Enforcement Legal Reporter (LELR) is written by attorney Richard J. Chrystie, California State Bar #39556. Mr. Chrystie was a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County for over 33 years and is thoroughly familiar with all aspects of criminal cases from investigation through prosecution. He is the co-author of the Search Warrant Manual published by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and has written numerous other publications dealing with criminal law, particularly as it relates to street police work and the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases. Mr. Chrystie has also lectured hundreds of times to police and prosecutor groups on criminal law topics and continues to do so.

A free e-mail of the current issue is available by calling (800) 733-0737 or by e-mailing your request to RJChrystie@aol.com.

WHAT WILL A TYPICAL E-MAIL ISSUE CONTAIN

From 1977 through 2010 the LELR was a 12 page printed publication, each containing the current month's issue. Many of you will remember the old logo and the tan pages it was printed on.

But many subscribers stated that they'd prefer an e-mail version of the LELR. That way, it can be downloaded onto their computer hard drive and be word searchable. Of course, it can also be printed out and placed in a notebook just like the print version. The e-mail LELR will contain the same case summaries as now appear in the print version. The look and feel of the publication will remain the same. There will be no change in that. When the e-mail is sent to you, simply click on the LELR e-mail attachment and the file/publication will open up.

However, the e-mail version will also contain the prior 11 months' issues of the LELR, and it will be word searchable. Case citations and page citations that were not available when the LELR was first sent will be added when available.

Also because an e-mail download is not limited to the 12 page format of the print version, various Bonus Features will also be added to the e-mail version. Reprints of significant past cases will be added. Other matters of interest to peace officers that are not strictly case law related can also be included. So the e-mail version of the LELR will have everything that the print version had - and more. Subscribers and police agencies may submit materials for inclusion in the Bonus Feature and Announcement sections of the e-mail LELR.

There are other advantages to an e-mail LELR. Case summaries will be available to subscribers much more quickly than with the print version. The time lag inherent in printing the LELR and mailing it will be erased. The LELR will be up to the minute and will arrive in your e-mailbox on the first day of each month. If a new case of special importance comes out soon after the monthly issue is sent, then an"Extra" will be e-mailed to you containing a summary of that case. That was done with the case of People Diaz case approving the search of the cell phones of arrestees. The case came out just a few days after the January 2011 issue had been e-mailed, so a summary of Diaz was e-mailed to all LELR subscribers as an "Extra."

There is a cost savings. Printing and mailing the LELR was the major expense in its publication and distribution. E-mailing the LELR is a big savings. This is being passed on to subscribers. The price of a one-year e-mail subscription will be $39.50 - a $3.00 savings over the price of the old print version. The price of a two-year e-mail subscription will be $69.50, a $10.00 savings over the price of the print version.

Will back issues still be available? Yes. A CD with all back issues from January 1990 through December 2011 is now available for $39.50. It will be snail-mailed to you. Since the e-mail version of the LELR contains the current month's issue plus the prior eleven months' issues, all of the 2010 issues are contained in the e-mail version of the December 2010 issue of the LELR.

Printed back issues are available up to and including the December 2010 issue. But to clear out past inventory, the price of print back issues has been reduced. One year of back issues is now $14.50; two years is now $19.50 and three years is $24.50. Simply call (800) 733-0737 to order or send your request to RJChrystie@aol.com. You will be billed.

What about the Vehicle Search and Warrantless Entries publications. Are they still available? The answer is yes. They will continue to be available in the print version for $17.50 or in the CD format for $10.50. They may be ordered by calling the LELR at (800) 733-0737 or by using the order form on the LELR website: www.LawEnforcementLegalReporter.com. They are described in further detail elsewhere on this website.

How will I pay for the LELR? How will I renew my subscription? New subscriptions can be ordered and paid for using Pay Pal on the LELR website. Or you can send in a check along with the order form on the website. Or you can call (800) 733-0737 to order and you will be billed. Two or three months prior to your subscription expiring, you will be sent an e-mail notice that renewal is due. You can renew using Pay Pal on the website or you can send in a check using the form on the website.

Any questions and/or suggestions? Feel free to call the LELR directly at (800) 733-0737 - or e-mail the LELR at RJChrystie@aol.com - if you have any questions or suggestions.

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