4th Amendment

In this video, we break down United States v. Ruiz, a brand new Ninth Circuit opinion from January 2026. Alex Ruiz was convicted of transporting illegal aliens in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 — but the way he got caught and convicted is what makes this case fascinating.

🚔 THE TECH: Border Patrol agents driving unmarked vehicles ran a real-time records check that pulled the car’s travel history, checkpoint records, and registration data — all in minutes, from the front seat of a moving car. We break down exactly what that technology can see and why it matters.

📱 THE EVIDENCE: A WhatsApp group chat with live GPS coordinates helped place Ruiz at the scene. His co-defendant — who pleaded guilty the week before trial — took the stand and testified against him. And body-worn camera footage captured everything.

⚖️ THE LEGAL ISSUE: The government introduced Ruiz’s prior conviction for the same crime under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Was that legal? The Ninth Circuit said yes — and we walk you through the four-part test courts use to decide when a prior bad act can come in at trial.

If you are someone who loves true crime and courtroom drama, this case has it all — cutting-edge surveillance tech, a dramatic highway chase, a spike strip dodge, and a legal ruling that will shape 404(b) cases for years to come.

🔔 Subscribe to LAWSTACHE for weekly case breakdowns, legal analysis, and courtroom drama you won’t find anywhere else.

Click to access 24-386.pdf

Hashtags:
#BorderPatrol #Immigration #CriminalLaw #404b #NinthCircuit #LawTube #Lawstache #TrueCrime #CourtCase #EvidenceLaw #ConstitutionalLaw #LegalAnalysis #ImigrationLaw #FederalCourt #KnowYourRights

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
https://lawstache.com
(619) 357-6677

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Based in San Diego, CA
Licensed: California, Nevada, and Federal Courts

The San Diego-based business litigation and criminal defense attorneys at LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM are experienced and dedicated professionals singularly focused on one goal: achieving the best results for our clients. Through our hard work and expertise, we guarantee all of our clients that we will diligently protect their rights and zealously pursue justice. Our clients deserve nothing less!

In this video, we break down United States v. Ruiz, a brand new Ninth Circuit opinion from January 2026. Alex Ruiz was convicted of transporting illegal aliens in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 — but the way he got caught and convicted is what makes this case fascinating.

🚔 THE TECH: Border Patrol agents driving unmarked vehicles ran a real-time records check that pulled the car’s travel history, checkpoint records, and registration data — all in minutes, from the front seat of a moving car. We break down exactly what that technology can see and why it matters.

📱 THE EVIDENCE: A WhatsApp group chat with live GPS coordinates helped place Ruiz at the scene. His co-defendant — who pleaded guilty the week before trial — took the stand and testified against him. And body-worn camera footage captured everything.

⚖️ THE LEGAL ISSUE: The government introduced Ruiz’s prior conviction for the same crime under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Was that legal? The Ninth Circuit said yes — and we walk you through the four-part test courts use to decide when a prior bad act can come in at trial.

If you are someone who loves true crime and courtroom drama, this case has it all — cutting-edge surveillance tech, a dramatic highway chase, a spike strip dodge, and a legal ruling that will shape 404(b) cases for years to come.

🔔 Subscribe to LAWSTACHE for weekly case breakdowns, legal analysis, and courtroom drama you won’t find anywhere else.

Hashtags:
#BorderPatrol #Immigration #CriminalLaw #404b #NinthCircuit #LawTube #Lawstache #TrueCrime #CourtCase #EvidenceLaw #ConstitutionalLaw #LegalAnalysis #ImigrationLaw #FederalCourt #knowyourrights

Click to access 24-386.pdf

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
https://lawstache.com
(619) 357-6677

Do you want to buy our Lawstache merchandise? Maybe a T-shirt?
https://lawstache.com/merch/

Want to mail me something (usually mustache-related)? Send it to 185 West F Street, Suite 100-D, San Diego, CA 92101

Want to learn about our recent victories?
https://lawstache.com/results-notable-cases/

Are you a Russian speaker? Вы говорите по-русски?
https://russiansandiegoattorney.com

Based in San Diego, CA
Licensed: California, Nevada, and Federal Courts

The San Diego-based business litigation and criminal defense attorneys at LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM are experienced and dedicated professionals singularly focused on one goal: achieving the best results for our clients. Through our hard work and expertise, we guarantee all of our clients that we will diligently protect their rights and zealously pursue justice. Our clients deserve nothing less!

Federal probation officers showed up at Deanna Coleman’s door while she was in her bathrobe. She asked them if they needed a warrant. They said no — and walked in anyway. What they found behind her bathroom mirror changed everything. But a federal appeals court just ruled the entire search was unconstitutional.

In this video I break down the brand new Fourth Circuit case United States v. Perez (2026) — decided February 23rd, 2026 — and explain exactly what it means for YOUR Fourth Amendment rights.

What we cover in this video:
What happened at Teal Drive, and why the search was illegal
Why owning a property doesn’t give police the right to search it
The difference between reasonable suspicion and probable cause
Why tenants have stronger Fourth Amendment rights than most people realize
What you should do if the police show up at YOUR door

🚨 WERE YOU OR A LOVED ONE ARRESTED? CALL MY OFFICE NOW.
If police searched your home — with or without a warrant — you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side immediately. Evidence obtained through an illegal search can be thrown out entirely, just like in this case.

The consultation is free. The call could change everything.

United States v. Perez, No. 23-7280, 2026 WL 492012 (4th Cir. Feb. 23, 2026)

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
🌐 https://lawstache.com
📞 (619) 357-6677

Do you want to buy our Lawstache merchandise? Maybe a T-shirt?
https://lawstache.com/merch/

Want to mail me something (usually mustache-related)? Send it to 185 West F Street, Suite 100-D, San Diego, CA 92101

Want to learn about our recent victories?
https://lawstache.com/results-notable-cases/

Are you a Russian speaker? Вы говорите по-русски?
https://russiansandiegoattorney.com

Based in San Diego, CA
Licensed: California, Nevada, and Federal Courts

The San Diego-based business litigation and criminal defense attorneys at LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM are experienced and dedicated professionals singularly focused on one goal: achieving the best results for our clients. Through our hard work and expertise, we guarantee all of our clients that we will diligently protect their rights and zealously pursue justice. Our clients deserve nothing less!

Can police search a bag in your car without a warrant? The Supreme Court says yes—and this decision affects thousands of traffic stops and drug arrests every year.

In California v. Acevedo (1991), the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment, allowing police to search containers inside a vehicle if they claim probable cause—even without a warrant.

But probable cause is often overstated, misunderstood, or flat-out wrong.

I’m a criminal defense attorney, and in this video I explain:

When police can search your car or a bag inside it

When a warrant is still required

How officers misuse the automobile exception

How illegal searches can lead to suppressed evidence and dismissed cases

If you were stopped, searched, or arrested after a traffic stop, drug investigation, or vehicle search, this case may determine whether the evidence against you is constitutional—or throw-outable.

📍 Facing criminal charges?
Do not assume the police search was legal. An experienced defense attorney can challenge probable cause, stop unconstitutional searches, and protect your rights.

👉 Contact a criminal defense lawyer immediately if police searched your vehicle or personal property.

Read more here: California v. Acevedo, 500 U.S. 565 (1991), https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/500/565/#tab-opinion-1958783

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
https://lawstache.com
(619) 357-6677

Do you want to buy our Lawstache merchandise? Maybe a T-shirt?
https://lawstache.com/merch/

Want to mail me something (usually mustache-related)? Send it to 185 West F Street, Suite 100-D, San Diego, CA 92101

Want to learn about our recent victories?
https://lawstache.com/results-notable-cases/

Are you a Russian speaker? Вы говорите по-русски?
https://russiansandiegoattorney.com

Based in San Diego, CA
Licensed: California, Nevada, and Federal Courts

The San Diego-based business litigation and criminal defense attorneys at LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM are experienced and dedicated professionals singularly focused on one goal: achieving the best results for our clients. Through our hard work and expertise, we guarantee all of our clients that we will diligently protect their rights and zealously pursue justice. Our clients deserve nothing less!

Can an honest—but unreasonable—mistake erase criminal intent?
In People v. Hendrix (2022), the California Supreme Court tackled this exact question after a man was convicted of burglary for walking into a home he thought belonged to his cousin.

⚖️ This video breaks down the Supreme Court’s ruling that a mistake of fact doesn’t have to be reasonable to negate specific intent crimes like burglary.
The justices reversed the conviction because the jury was incorrectly told that Hendrix’s mistake had to be “reasonable” — a legal misstep that could have statewide consequences.

Read the full case here: People v. Hendrix, 13 Cal. 5th 933 (2022), https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S265668.PDF

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
https://lawstache.com
(619) 357-6677

Do you want to buy our Lawstache merchandise? Maybe a T-shirt?
https://lawstache.com/merch/

Want to mail me something (usually mustache-related)? Send it to 185 West F Street, Suite 100-D, San Diego, CA 92101

Want to learn about our recent victories?
https://lawstache.com/results-notable-cases/

Are you a Russian speaker? Вы говорите по-русски?
https://russiansandiegoattorney.com

Based in San Diego, CA
Licensed: California, Nevada, and Federal Courts

The San Diego-based business litigation and criminal defense attorneys at LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM are experienced and dedicated professionals singularly focused on one goal: achieving the best results for our clients. Through our hard work and expertise, we guarantee all of our clients that we will diligently protect their rights and zealously pursue justice. Our clients deserve nothing less!

🚨 USA v. Bejar-Guizar (2025) – Border Patrol Stop & 9th Circuit Immigration Ruling Explained 🚨

In this video, we break down the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in United States v. Bejar-Guizar, a key 2025 immigration case involving a border patrol stop near San Diego, California. The court upheld the legality of the stop based on reasonable suspicion as it related to immigration charge under 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(1).

👮‍♂️ Was the Border Patrol stop constitutional?
📍 What evidence is needed to prove illegal detention?
⚖️ How does this case impact immigration and 4th Amendment law?

👉 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the 🔔 for more updates on immigration law, federal court rulings, and border-related cases.

#BejarGuizar #ImmigrationLaw #BorderPatrol #FourthAmendment #9thCircuit #IllegalEntry #Section1325 #LawExplained #FederalAppeals #LAWSTACHE

Read the full case here: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2025/07/09/23-3201.pdf

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
https://lawstache.com
(619) 357-6677

Do you want to buy our Lawstache merchandise? Maybe a T-shirt?
https://lawstache.com/merch/

https://Shop.Lawstache.com

Want to mail me something (usually mustache-related)? Send it to 185 West F Street, Suite 100-D, San Diego, CA 92101

Want to learn about our recent victories?
https://lawstache.com/results-notable-cases/

Are you a Russian speaker? Вы говорите по-русски?
https://russiansandiegoattorney.com

Based in San Diego, CA
Licensed: California, Nevada, and Federal Courts

The San Diego-based business litigation and criminal defense attorneys at LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM are experienced and dedicated professionals singularly focused on one goal: achieving the best results for our clients. Through our hard work and expertise, we guarantee all of our clients that we will diligently protect their rights and zealously pursue justice. Our clients deserve nothing less!

The Fifth Amendment’s privilege against selfincrimination generally applies only to those who “claim it.” Saechao, 418 F.3d at 1077 (quotation omitted). However, this general rule does not apply when an individual is “denied the free choice to admit, to deny, or to refuse to answer.” Id. This can occur when the government creates a situation where “an individual’s refusal to answer incriminating questions subjects him to a penalty.” Id. In a “penalty situation,” the Fifth Amendment becomes selfexecuting. Murphy, 465 U.S. at 435–36. In other words, “if the state, either expressly or by implication, asserts that invocation of the privilege would lead to revocation of probation . . . the failure to assert the privilege would be excused, and the probationer’s answer would be deemed compelled and inadmissible in a criminal prosecution.” Id. at 435.

In the probationary [or parole] context, this means that although the state is permitted to require a probationer to “appear and discuss matters affecting his probationary status,” the probationer may not be required under threat of revocation of probation to respond to “questions put to [him], however relevant to his probationary status, [that] call for answers that would incriminate him in a pending or later criminal proceeding.”

Read the full case here: USA v. Watson, https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2025/05/23/24-1865.pdf

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
https://lawstache.com
(619) 357-6677

Do you want to buy our Lawstache merchandise? Maybe a T-shirt?
https://lawstache.com/merch/

Want to mail me something (usually mustache-related)? Send it to 185 West F Street, Suite 100-D, San Diego, CA 92101

Want to learn about our recent victories?
https://lawstache.com/results-notable-cases/

Are you a Russian speaker? Вы говорите по-русски?
https://russiansandiegoattorney.com

Based in San Diego, CA
Licensed: California, Nevada, and Federal Courts

The San Diego-based business litigation and criminal defense attorneys at LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM are experienced and dedicated professionals singularly focused on one goal: achieving the best results for our clients. Through our hard work and expertise, we guarantee all of our clients that we will diligently protect their rights and zealously pursue justice. Our clients deserve nothing less!

While “knock and talks”—as defined by the United States Supreme Court—are
considered constitutional, “knock and talks”—as defined and executed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”)—are not. Considering the policies and practices governing how ICE conducts its “knock and talks,” the more accurate title for certain law enforcement operations would be “knock and arrests.” This Order serves to vacate those unlawful policies and practices.

Read more here: https://www.aclusocal.org/sites/default/files/kidd_msj_order.pdf

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
https://lawstache.com
(619) 357-6677

Do you want to buy our Lawstache merchandise? Maybe a T-shirt?
https://lawstache.com/merch/

Want to mail me something (usually mustache-related)? Send it to 185 West F Street, Suite 100-D, San Diego, CA 92101

Want to learn about our recent victories?
https://lawstache.com/results-notable-cases/

Are you a Russian speaker? Вы говорите по-русски?
https://russiansandiegoattorney.com

Based in San Diego, CA
Licensed: California, Nevada, and Federal Courts

The San Diego-based business litigation and criminal defense attorneys at LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM are experienced and dedicated professionals singularly focused on one goal: achieving the best results for our clients. Through our hard work and expertise, we guarantee all of our clients that we will diligently protect their rights and zealously pursue justice. Our clients deserve nothing less!