Michael Mendenhall lives in Denver and operates a successful staffing agency headquartered in a downtown townhouse. While working late one evening in 2023, Michael and his friend heard screams coming from the front stoop. Michael grabbed a commemorative baseball bat and they opened the door.
Outside was a man sitting on the stoop, yelling at some women who were scurrying away. Michael asked the man to go away. The man argued with Michael, inexplicably threatening to call the police. After less than a minute of disagreement, the man backed away and Michael shut the door. A short while later, police knocked on the door and arrested Michael, without even asking for his side of the story.
While Michael was being held in a squad car, an officer called a police detective and relayed the allegations. That detective in turn used this secondhand account to apply for a warrant to enter the townhouse and search for the baseball bat. The detective was never present at the scene but his affirmation was enough for the judge to grant the warrant.
After police got the warrant, they entered the home and seized the bat. Michael was taken to jail and charged with felony menacing. Michael bailed out the next morning. Given the flimsy testimony of Michael’s accuser, charges were dropped less than a week later. Michael still has not had the bat returned to him, which is from an All-Star Game and is signed by players.
Michael is challenging whether the procedure police used to get the warrant property follows the Fourth Amendment’s “oath or affirmation” requirement.
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4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Mendenhall v. Denver
The Fourth Amendment requires that warrants be supported by "oath or affirmation" but that requirement means almost nothing today because of a decades old Supreme Court decision. Michael Mendenhall's case could revive the original meaning…