Fourth Amendment
School Strip-Searches 22 Sixth-Grade Girls Because a Cop Thought They Were Hiding $50 in Their Underwear
Despite the best efforts of a nurse who "loosened their bras" and "checked around the waistband of their panties," no money was found.
Will Trump's Next SCOTUS Pick Be Able To Overturn Roe v. Wade?: Podcast
The short answer is no. The longer answer is maybe, a little at a time, and that's a problem. Plus, is 2018 turning into 1968, a year of high-profile violence?
Sadly, Ross Ulbricht's Case Will Not Be Heard by the Supreme Court
Despite Carpenter upending Fourth Amendment doctrine, the Supremes leave the Silk Road founder in prison for life.
Is It Legal for Cops to Shoot Unlicensed Dogs?
Pets shouldn't be treated as contraband.
Gorsuch Was More 'Liberal' Than Kennedy This Term, in an Unusual Supreme Court Twist
Comparing the records of two right-of-center justices.
Carpenter Supreme Court Decision Should Lead To Rethinking Ross Ulbricht's Conviction
The government's prosecution of the Silk Road founder depended on a Fourth Amendment doctrine made questionable by Carpenter's new respect for the information accessible via modern technology.
Neil Gorsuch Joins Sonia Sotomayor in Questioning the Third-Party Doctrine
In a case involving cellphone location data, Gorsuch says entrusting information to someone does not mean surrendering your Fourth Amendment rights.
Huge Win for Everyone With a Cellphone (and for the Fourth Amendment) at the Supreme Court
SCOTUS rejects warrantless cellphone location tracking in Carpenter v. United States.
Greyhound Should Just Say No to the Border Patrol's Bus Sweeps
The company has no legal obligation to let alien hunters harass its customers unless they have a warrant or probable cause.
Can Police Arrest Person Carrying Gun Without First Checking If He's Licensed?
No, says the Illinois Appellate Court.
With "Friends" Like These…
"When a person voluntarily accepts a 'friend' request on Facebook from an undercover police officer, and then exposes incriminating evidence...the Fourth Amendment [does not] protect against this mistaken trust."
Supreme Court Rules 8-1 Against Warrantless Police Search in Important Fourth Amendment Case
SCOTUS rejects warrantless search of vehicle parked in the "curtilage" of private home.
Eleventh Circuit Creates Circuit Split on Cell Phone Border Searches
Waiting for Carpenter? This issue may go upstairs next.
Byrd v. United States: The Supreme Court Takes a Broad View of Fourth Amendment Standing
An interesting new ruling in the rental car case.
SCOTUS Says Non-Authorized Rental Car Drivers Do Not Automatically Forfeit Their Fourth Amendment Rights
Fourth Amendment advocates score a limited victory in Byrd v. U.S.
Off-Duty Cop Pulls Gun on Man Buying Mentos; Police Union Condemns Fourth Amendment
Not a good weekend for relationships between officers and citizens
The Golden State Killer and Your Genetic Privacy
Do you have a reasonable expectation of genetic privacy under the Fourth Amendment?
Are Cop-Assisted Promposals Charming or Alarming?
Stopping drivers without a legal justification is unconstitutional, even in the name of young love.
Court to Cops: Shoot First and Think Later
SCOTUS encourages excessive force by shielding police from liability.
Why the Supreme Court Reviews So Many Qualified Immunity Cases
Here's a theory, at least.
No Fourth Amendment Protections Against Warrantless Cell Phone Searches at U.S. Border, Says Federal Court
"Border searches never require a warrant or probable cause."
Trooper Stops Driver Twice Within 3 Hours, Gropes Her for No Apparent Reason
The cop's boss says he did nothing wrong; the local D.A. disagrees.
3 Supreme Court Cases to Watch This Month
Here are the SCOTUS cases to watch in February.
No, Trump Did Not Make It Easier for Mentally Ill People to Buy Guns
Shooting revives deliberately misleading talking points about a bad regulation both the NRA and the ACLU opposed.
Trump's Critics Worry That He's Undermining Trust in the FBI, As If That's a Bad Thing
More Republican skepticism of law enforcement agencies is a welcome development.
Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito Butt Heads Over the Fourth Amendment, Again
Gorsuch advances another property rights theory of the Fourth Amendment that Alito rejects.
Prosecute Former Spymaster James Clapper for Lying to Congress Now. Time is Running Out.
The former Director of National Intelligence lied under oath about warrantless NSA spying on American citizens.
Stop Warrantless Snooping on Americans
The NSA's surveillance of international communications is not limited to "foreign bad guys on foreign land."
Yes, the Positive Law Model of the Fourth Amendment is Originalist
Orin asked me to correct the record; I'm correcting it.
House Will Vote Today To Allow Warrantless Searches on U.S. Citizens
Rep. Thomas Massie explains why he will vote "hell no" on renewal of FISA if Congress doesn't reform the 702 program.
Can the 'Automobile Exception' Run Over the Fourth Amendment?
Justices hear challenge to Virginia court's expansion of warrantless vehicle searches.
Washington, California Trying to Punish Businesses that Overly Cooperate with Feds on Immigration
Motel 6 sued for passing names along to ICE.
The Fourth Amendment, the Exclusionary Rule, and Illegal Government Searches
Why illegally obtained evidence is generally inadmissible in court.
Will the Government Ban Human Driving?
Do we need a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to drive?
No Foreign Spy Program Reauthorization Without Citizen Protections
The federal government has no business using information gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act against Americans.
Four Thoughts on Byrd v. United States
When do unauthorized drivers have Fourth Amendment rights in rental cars?
Ross Ulbricht Files Appeal to the Supreme Court on His Life Sentence Without Parole
Silk Road founder's appeal stresses the dangerous Fourth and Sixth Amendment implications of his prosecution and sentencing.
Reconciling Katz and the Fourth Amendment Text
Some people think the Katz "reasonable expectation of privacy" test is hard to reconcile with the text of the Fourth Amendment. Here's why I think they're wrong.
Congress Mulls Passing Most Intrusive Federal Surveillance Bill Available (Update: Bill Is Dead 'For Now')
This FISA renewal bill would essentially gut the Fourth Amendment.
Jury Rejects Damages for Victims of Pot Raid Based on Wet Tea Leaves
The jurors seem to have concluded that the bumbling drug warriors of Johnson County, Kansas, were incompetent rather than dishonest.
Justices Alito and Gorsuch Clash Over Cellphones, Privacy, and Property Rights
Oral arguments in Carpenter v. U.S. reveal a division between two conservative justices.
These Three Cases Define This Month at the Supreme Court Term: Podcast
How to think about gay wedding cakes, Fourth Amendment rights, and whether the federal government can ban sports betting. Plus: How will Neil Gorsuch vote?
Court to Cops: Forcing a Teenager to Masturbate in Front of You Is Not Reasonable
A detective who was later charged with molesting children performed the humiliating search while investigating consensual sexting.
Cops Steal $91,800 From a Musician, Claiming He Gave It to Them
Wyoming's roadside waivers are a thin disguise for highway robbery.
Trump Administration Lawyer Pummeled by Sotomayor and Gorsuch in Cellphone Tracking Case
"Most Americans, I think, still want to avoid Big Brother."