Police Used a Truck Inspection To Search for Drugs. The 7th Circuit Said the Fourth Amendment Forbids It.
Cops stopped a semitruck because of a drug tip, then tried to dress the illegal search up as a routine inspection.
Fourth Amendment
A Trump-Appointed Judge Quashes a Subpoena Aimed at Validating the President's Stolen-Election Fantasy
The decision rebukes the DOJ for demanding "private and sensitive" information about Georgia election workers "with no legitimate law enforcement purpose."
The Supreme Court's 'Reasonable Expectation of Privacy' Test Defies Expectations
Neil Gorsuch proposes an alternative to a Fourth Amendment standard that has proven to be an unreliable safeguard against government snooping.
The 5th Circuit Says a Houston Cop Reasonably Killed 2 Innocent People Falsely Accused of Selling Heroin
The officer's avowed reasons for killing Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas were contradicted by the physical evidence.
Neil Gorsuch Urges Supreme Court To Correct 2 Wrong Turns That Undermined Civil Liberties
The justice criticizes the Court’s endorsement of coercive plea bargaining and its embrace of dubious Fourth Amendment doctrines.
In Chatrie, Neil Gorsuch Reiterates His Critique of 2 Dubious Fourth Amendment Doctrines
The justice argues that the "reasonable expectation of privacy" test and the third-party doctrine are indefensible in theory and unworkable in practice.
In Big Win for Fourth Amendment Advocates, the Supreme Court Says 'Geofence Warrants' Count as a 'Search'
Understanding Chatrie v. United States.
Independent Journalist's Lawsuit Against West Texas County Can Go Forward, Recommends Magistrate Judge
The case is mostly about photography restrictions and false arrest, but the defendants also allegedly "discussed playing Disney music during public meetings to prevent Flash—through copyright restrictions—from monetizing his recordings."
A Colorado Town Will Pay $675,000 To Settle a Lawsuit After a Police Officer Shot a Family's Dog
The family's attorney says it's the largest settlement for a dog shooting case in Colorado history.
Maryland Court Rules Against Unconstitutional Stop-and-Frisk in Victory for State's Gun Owners
In a unanimous opinion, the court ruled that it is unconstitutional for officers to stop and frisk someone based solely on suspicion that the person is carrying a gun.
Iowa Man Seen in Viral Body Camera Footage Wins $105,000 Wrongful Arrest Lawsuit
After nearly four years of legal battles, Tayvin Galanakis has finally won his case against the officers who arrested him for allegedly driving while intoxicated without probable cause.
In Lawsuit Over Construction Raids, DHS Official Testifies ICE Agents Can't Trust REAL IDs
A Homeland Security official's testimony that ICE agents couldn't rely on REAL IDs as proof of citizenship led a federal judge to reply, "Help me understand how that makes sense."
Rejected Search Warrant Applications Raise Further Questions About the Federal Case Against Don Lemon
After a magistrate judge said a DHS investigator had failed to establish probable cause, the government decided it did not need the YouTube and iPhone records after all.
Leaked Plans Show School Buses Could Become Roaming Surveillance Vehicles
The documents reveal BusPatrol’s plan to equip tens of thousands of school buses with license plate readers and share the data with law enforcement.
Ken Paxton's Primary Victory Shows How Trump's Grudges Undermine His Party's Interests
The president's last-minute endorsement of Paxton was driven by his petty grievances against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who was clearly the safer bet to retain the seat.
A Tennessee Man Jailed for 37 Days Because of an Anti-Trump Meme Will Get $835,000 for His Trouble
Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems preposterously claimed that Larry Bushart had threatened "mass violence" at a school.
A State Assault Case Against an ICE Agent Could Illustrate the Limits of Supremacy Clause Immunity
That defense applies only when an officer "reasonably" believed he was acting within his federal authority.
Pennsylvania Family Says the DEA Battered Down Their Door While Raiding the Wrong Home
The family is suing the federal agency and their local police department for violating their Fourth Amendment rights.
Filming Cops Is a First Amendment Right. The Feds Keep Harassing People for It Anyway.
Most federal appeals courts have recognized the right to record police. DHS employees nevertheless seem to view it as a crime.
A U.S. Citizen Is Suing ICE for Arresting Him Twice. He Just Got Arrested a Third Time.
Leo Garcia Venegas and the Institute for Justice are suing to block immigration raids on private construction sites that target Latinos.
11 Big SCOTUS Cases That Will Be Decided Soon
From immigration and guns to executive power, transgender athletes, and mail-in ballots, these are the Supreme Court cases to watch out for in May and June.
A SCOTUS Case Exposes the Dangers of 2 Misguided Fourth Amendment Doctrines
"Geofence" searches illustrate the perilous combination of modern technology and deference to law enforcement.
SCOTUS Weighs 'Geofence Warrants' and the Future of Digital Privacy
The government wants access to millions of cell phone location histories. The Supreme Court will decide what the Fourth Amendment allows.
Houston Irks Texas Gov. Greg Abbott by Reminding Cops To Comply With the Fourth Amendment
The governor is threatening to defund the police because of an ordinance noting that an ICE administrative warrant "does not justify a stop, arrest, or continued detention" by city officers.
Alabama Supreme Court to Cops: It's OK To Force a Pastor Watering Flowers To Show His ID
The court ruled that police can demand a physical ID under the state's stop-and-identify law.
FISA Reform Blues
Plus: The House passes a short-term FISA extension, Ron Wyden urges fellow Senate Democrats to oppose a "clean" bill, and Norway gets robot buses.
San Jose's 'Creepy' and 'Deeply Intrusive' ALPR Camera System Is Unconstitutional, a New Lawsuit Says
The city has created a network of nearly 500 cameras that routinely monitor innocent people as they go about their daily lives.
Trump Says He's Willing To 'Risk' Your Rights for His Surveillance Powers
The president once said he wanted to kill warrantless electronic spying. So much for that.
The Supreme Court's Next Big Fourth Amendment Case
How the digital privacy rights of millions are at stake in Chatrie v. United States.
Innocent Property Owners Deserve 'Just Compensation' When Cops Wreck Their Homes or Businesses
Two petitions ask the Supreme Court to uphold the remedy required by the Fifth Amendment.
A Jury Approves Damages After 2 Texas Cops Snatched a Supposedly 'Abandoned' Girl From Her Home
The jurors concluded that the officers violated the Fourth and 14th amendments when they seized a 14-year-old without evidence that she was in danger.
Maine Lobsterman Asks the Supreme Court To Strike Down a Rule Allowing the Government To Track His Boat 24/7
The case could give the Court a chance to clarify what a "closely regulated" business is and what constitutional protections it enjoys.
The D.C. Streetcar's Other Failures
Plus: The "Montana miracle" wins one last court battle, D.C.'s "devastatingly unambitious" growth plan, and your Fourth Amendment right to refuse federal housing vouchers.
The DOJ Wants To Drop Charges Against 2 Cops Who Played a Crucial Role in Breonna Taylor's Death
But for a fraudulent and misleading warrant affidavit, Taylor would not have been killed during a fruitless late-night drug raid.
Justice Sotomayor on the Freedom of the Press and the Right to Ask Questions
The Justice largely agrees with Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho's dissenting opinion below, but writes alone in dissenting from the Supreme Court's decision not to consider the case.
Markwayne Mullin Says Agents Don't Need a Warrant If They're Pursuing a Suspect. Here's What the Law Says.
“Officers don’t have the blanket authority to arrest anyone who runs from them,” says an attorney from the Institute for Justice.
Department of Homeland Security
Markwayne Mullin's History of Condoning Murder and Resisting Transparency Makes Him Ill-Suited To Run DHS
The Oklahoma senator, nominated to replace Kristi Noem, is blasé about the use of deadly force.
Department of Homeland Security
In Senate Testimony on DHS Shootings, Kristi Noem Lies About Her Lies
The homeland security secretary blatantly misrepresented what she said about Alex Pretti on the day he was killed.
Iowa Officials Arrested This Guy for Criticizing Them—Twice. A Federal Judge Says They Are Liable.
A mayor and a police chief "mistook their authority to maintain order for a license to suppress criticism," says U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose.
ICE Whistleblower Says Training Is 'Deficient, Defective, and Broken'
An attorney and former ICE training instructor testified before Congress that changes to the training program “can and will get people killed.”
Department of Homeland Security
Prosecutors Admit the DHS Account of an ICE Shooting Was Based on Lies
The department's pattern of dishonesty supports a presumption of irregularity.
Do Construction Workers Have Fourth Amendment Rights? A Federal Court Will Decide.
The Department of Homeland Security argues it doesn't need a warrant to enter a construction site.
A Tiny Alabama Town Ran an Outrageous Speed Trap. Now It Will Pay $1.5 Million To Settle a Lawsuit.
Brookside, Alabama, made national news in 2022 after investigations revealed it was bankrolling itself through predatory traffic enforcement.
Mike Johnson Wants To Spare ICE the Hassle of Getting the Right Warrant Before Forcibly Entering a Home
Here's a quick reminder of what the Fourth Amendment has to say about that.
Drug Dogs Should Not Be Unleashed To Authorize Apartment Searches, a SCOTUS Brief Argues
The 4th Circuit held that the doorstep of an apartment did not qualify as protected "curtilage" under the Fourth Amendment.
The Minneapolis Shootings Underline the Advantages of Body Cameras, Which DHS Has Been Slow To Adopt
A pending appropriations bill could increase transparency and accountability by requiring DHS personnel to record encounters with the public.
DHS Retreats From the Claim That the Agents Who Killed Alex Pretti Faced a 'Violent Riot'
The department now describes the threat as "several civilians" who were "yelling and blowing whistles."
