After 100 Years, End the Open Fields Doctrine
Federal agents are allowed to search private property without a warrant under this Prohibition-era Supreme Court precedent.
Warrants
Police Want the Password to Your Phone
Without a warrant and specific proof of incriminating evidence, police should never be allowed past your phone’s lock screen.
Former Houston Drug Cop Gets 60 Years for His Deadly Lies
That amounts to a life sentence for Gerald Goines, who instigated the no-knock raid that killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas by falsely accusing them of selling heroin.
A Houston Drug Cop's Murder Conviction Highlights the Potentially Deadly Consequences of 'Testilying'
Similar scandals across the country suggest the problem is widespread.
Former Houston Drug Cop Convicted of Murder After His Lies Resulted in Two Deaths
The jury accepted the prosecution's argument that Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas died because of Gerald Goines' fraudulent search warrant affidavit.
Jurors Weigh Murder Charges Against Former Houston Drug Cop Who Lied to Justify a Deadly Home Invasion
But for Gerald Goines' lies on a search warrant affidavit, prosecutors argued, Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas would still be alive.
Houston Officials Trusted a Dishonest Drug Cop for Decades Before His Lies Killed 2 People
But for a disastrous raid, narcotics officer Gerald Goines would have been free to continue framing people he thought were guilty.
Here's How the CIA Plans To Use Your Ad Tracking Data
The intelligence community is admitting that info from data brokers is sensitive but isn’t accepting hard limits on how to use it.
Tennessee Appeals Court Rules Against Wildlife Agents Who Planted Cameras on Private Land
The three-judge panel concluded unanimously that while the state law at issue is constitutional, the wildlife agents' application of it was not.
Appeals Court Rules That Cops Can Physically Make You Unlock Your Phone
The 9th Circuit determined that forcibly mashing a suspect's thumb into his phone to unlock it was akin to fingerprinting him at the police station.
Biden Opposes Bill That Would Keep Cops and Feds From Buying Your Data
The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act would prevent law enforcement and intelligence agencies from purchasing data that they would otherwise need a warrant to obtain.
Donald Trump's Cowardice Over Warrantless Spying
"I told everybody, 'Do what you want,'" Trump said on Friday night, as he let the deep state win again.
Democrats Tank FISA Warrant Requirement
The measure would have required federal agents to get a warrant before searching American communications collected as part of foreign intelligence.
Republicans Split on Whether FBI Should Be Able To Snoop Without a Warrant
A Section 702 reauthorization moving through Congress could actually weaken privacy protections.
Texas SWAT Team Held Innocent Family at Gunpoint After Raiding the Wrong Home
The officers are avoiding accountability after getting qualified immunity.
Study Estimates Nearly 96% of Private Property Is Open to Warrantless Searches
The Institute for Justice says its data show that a century-old Supreme Court doctrine created a huge exception to the Fourth Amendment.
Louisiana Law Lets Wildlife Agents Trespass on Private Property
A lawsuit from the Institute for Justice claims the law violates the Louisiana Constitution.
NYC Child Protection Agency Uses 'Coercive Tactics' To Bully Parents Into Allowing Warrantless Searches
According to a new lawsuit, NYC's child protection agency almost never obtained warrants when it searched over 50,000 family homes during abuse and neglect investigations.
Texas Cops Held a Terrified Couple at Gunpoint After Raiding the Wrong House
Tyler Harrington has filed a lawsuit after four police officers burst into his home in the middle of the night.
Amazon's Ring Will Stop Giving Police Your Doorbell Footage Without a Warrant
While not perfect, the move is a step in the right direction for civil liberties.
Maryland Roommates File Lawsuit After Police Shot Their Dog During Alleged Illegal Home Search
Officers barged into their house without a warrant, shot their dog, and mocked them, a federal civil rights lawsuit says.
This Cop Was Acquitted for His Role in the Breonna Taylor Raid. The Feds Are Prosecuting Him—Again.
Maybe Brett Hankison shouldn't have been found not guilty, but he was. The Constitution says it should stop there.
Cops Stormed Into a Terrified Seattle Woman's Home. It Was the Wrong Address.
Elisabeth Rehn was about to take a bath when police officers kicked down her door, flooded into her apartment, and pointed their guns at her.
Lawmakers Try To Insert Privacy Protections Into the Feds' Snooping Powers
The bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act would stop a lot of warrantless surveillance as a condition for renewal of Section 702 authorities.
Odd Colorado Ruling Upholds Internet Keyword Search Warrant
Court says the warrant was “constitutionally defective” but grants police a “good faith” exception.
How Hippies Saved the Fourth Amendment
The Nixon administration did everything it could to curb antiwar activism. Then the courts said it had gone too far.
Arbitrary Rental Inspections Violate Search and Seizure Protections, Says Iowa Court
Warrantless home invasions are intrusive and dangerous for those on the receiving end.
Feds May Need Warrants To Search Cell Phones at the Border After All
Snooping through emails, video, and photos isn’t the same as stumbling on containers full of cocaine.
Intelligence Services Evade 4th Amendment by Paying for Your Data
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned that the practice threatens civil liberties, risks "mission creep," and could increase intelligence agencies' power.
Michigan Supreme Court To Decide If Government Can Warrantlessly Spy on You With Drones
The state court of appeals held previously that unconstitutionally collected evidence could still be used for civil enforcement.
Texas House Overwhelmingly Approves Restrictions on No-Knock Warrants
Conservatives who support the bill recognize the conflict between unannounced home invasions and the Second Amendment.
'Reprehensible and Plainly Unconstitutional': Child Welfare Agents Took Their Kids. Now They're Suing.
Even though a family pediatrician said she had "zero concerns," child welfare services still seized Josh Sabey's and Sarah Perkins' two young children. It took four months for the couple to regain custody.
Federal Agencies Are Still Using Our Phones as Tracking Beacons
Our mobile devices constantly snitch on our whereabouts.
Justice Department Probe Finds Illegal, Violent, and Discriminatory Policing in Louisville, Kentucky
The two-year investigation, launched after the police killing of Breonna Taylor, concluded that Louisville police routinely used invalid search warrants and failed to knock and announce their presence.
West Virginia Family Court Judge with History of Arranging Warrantless Searches Resigns
We may have finally discovered a limit to judicial immunity.
Rep. Adam Schiff Seeks Dianne Feinstein's Senate Seat
They both share in their authoritarian desires to censor online speech and violate citizen privacy.
A Politically Split Congress Can Perhaps Fuel Federal Surveillance Reforms
Part of a law that authorizes warrantless snooping is about to expire, opening up a opportunity to better protect our privacy rights.
Illinois City Agrees To Stop Fining People for Resisting Warrantless Home Inspections
Zion’s attempts to push out unwanted renters collides with Fourth Amendment protections.
This Mom Was Jailed for Leaving Her Teen Home Alone. Now, She's Suing.
An appeals court rejected a qualified immunity defense.
Apple Announces Stronger Data Encryption, to the Dismay of FBI Snoops
Photos and information you store on iCloud will be safer from hackers, spies, and the government.
Eleventh Circuit Quashes Trump Effort to Block Federal Government Access to Mar-a-Lago Documents
In a brief and forceful opinion, a unanimous court explains why the trial court never had jurisdiction to consider Trump's filings in the first place.
The Best Ever Libertarian Gift Guide
Until next year's, because capitalism is always making things better.
See the Surveillance State at Work in Your Own Community
The Atlas of Surveillance lets us monitor the agencies that snoop on the public.
Michigan Court Allows Town To Use Drones To Snoop Without Warrants. One Couple Is Suing.
The Institute for Justice argues evidence from warrantless searches can’t be used for zoning enforcement.
Trump's Declassification Claims Are Implausible and Irrelevant
The potential crimes that the FBI is investigating do not hinge on the current classification status of the records that the former president kept at Mar-a-Lago.
