Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

Tag Archives: consent searches

Fire Chief’s Consent Valid For Search of Lieutenant’s Laptop

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky has denied a motion to suppress a fire department laptop in a child pornography case against a fire lieutenant. Robert Christopher England, a lieutenant with the Middlesboro Fire Department, was accused of exposing himself to a minor in a Walmart bathroom in June 2018.

Locker Searches and the 4th Amendment

Today’s burning question: Does a fire department have the right to search a firefighter’s locker, individual sleeping room, or dresser without cause? Answer: It depends. As a governmental agency, a fire department has to respect the 4th Amendment rights of everyone, including its employees. The 4th Amendment prohibits warrantless searches

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.

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