Fourth Amendment
Federal Appeals Court Castigates Kansas Cops for Pot Raid Triggered by Tea
One judge notes that police raided a family's home "based on nothing more than junk science, an incompetent investigation, and a publicity stunt."
Marijuana Legalization Is Another Reason Dogs Should Not Issue Search Warrants
A Colorado appeals court concludes that a canine sniff-over is a search and by itself cannot supply probable cause.
Janice Rogers Brown, America's Most Libertarian Federal Judge, Is Retiring
The possible replacements include Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett.
New York Lawmakers Back Unwarranted Phone Searches of Drivers
On the pretext of texting safety, they want to give cops free rein to suspend licenses and fine drivers without charges or conviction.
Freedom Caucus Conservatives Break from Trump, Want More Surveillance Reform
Some legislators want more privacy protections from unwarranted snooping of U.S. citizens.
Rand Paul on Blocking Indefinite Detention and Saudi Arms Sales
The Kentucky senator laments that "there's very little of this attorney general, this Department of Justice, doing anything favorable towards criminal justice or towards civil liberties"
SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Significant 4th Amendment Case on Warrantless Cell Phone Location Searches
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in Carpenter v. U.S. next term.
Supreme Court Rules 8-0 for Police in Major Fourth Amendment Case
SCOTUS rejects "provocation doctrine," says illegal police search must be viewed separately from subsequent police use of force.
Carrying a Gun Does Not Justify Detention, Indiana Supreme Court Says
Since possessing a firearm in public may be perfectly legal, more is required for a police stop.
Indiana Supreme Court: Cops Don't Need a Search Warrant to Get Cell Phone Location Data
How many Fourth Amendment protections do we forfeit when we use a cell phone?
Police Don't Need a Search Warrant to Use Your Cell Phone Records to Track Your Location. Will SCOTUS Do Something About it?
The Supreme Court is asked to give the third-party doctrine a second look.
NSA Ends One Particular Type of Domestic Email Data Collection
No more gathering communications from Americans that were 'about' a foreign target.
Officer Feelgood, Meet the Constitution
Cops who stop motorists to give them stuff are abusing their power.
Reason at SXSW: What Can Americans Do About Government Snooping? (Podcast)
Listen to our panel at this year's festival in Austin, Texas.
Border Guards Now Snatching and Searching 5,000 Cellphones a Month
Think you have a right to your own property and information at the airport? Not one that law enforcement recognizes.
Tech Privacy a Top Concern in Early SXSW Government Panels
Surveillance, data collection and biometrics all topic of debate.
Cops Told This Uber Driver It's Illegal to Film Them. Surprise, He's a Lawyer.
Wilmington (N.C.) police imagined a 'new law' prohibiting recording police in public during a traffic stop.
How Post-Nixon Reforms Created Today's Spy Agency Monsters
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) unleashed demons that now seem beyond the government's control.
Feds Drop Child Porn Charges, Saying the Source of Their Evidence Is Secret
The DOJ won't reveal the source code for the software it used to identify Playpen visitors.
Leaks Aside, the Trump Administration Still Wants to Snoop on You
White House does not want federal surveillance authorities reformed.
Sen. Wyden Calls for Warrants for Tech Searches on the Border
Court decisions have decimated Fourth Amendment protections for people on the edges of the country.
Gorsuch's Track Record Suggests He Won't Be Trump's Rubber Stamp
The SCOTUS nominee is not afraid to challenge the government when it exceeds the law.
President Obama's Parting Shot at Personal Freedom
To make things more convenient for the government, the Obama administration makes it easier for agencies to spy on citizens.
FBI Insists That When They Steal People's Stuff, They're Doing It for You
They take $5 billion and give back $100 million to crime victims. These numbers don't add up.
One Cheer for Justice Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor is no libertarian. But she has turned out to be a good friend to the Fourth Amendment.
The Justice Dept.'s Costly Reform Agreement with Baltimore Police Explains Basic Appropriate Behavior
Are they 'fixing' the department or just rebuilding it from scratch?
Meet the Community in Louisiana Where Police Throw People in Jail First and Then Investigate
Justice Dept. threatens intervention to stop unconstituional 'investigative holds.'
Police Are Still Stopping Motorists to Spread Compulsory Holiday Cheer
From Bible verses to "Christmas citations," cops continue to use misuse their authority when they act as "kindness squads."
Federal Appeals Court Nixes Blanket Drug Screening of State College Students
The decision is a welcome departure from a tendency to sacrifice privacy on the altar of a drug-free society.
What Critics of the FBI's Clinton Investigation Get Right
The examination of Huma Abedin's emails was legally justified, but it could have been faster and quieter.
Police Keep Pulling People Over In 'Cute' Christmas-Themed Publicity Stunts
Citizens forced to comply with unconstitutional stops get gift cards.
Iowa Will Pay Poker Players Robbed by Forfeiture-Hungry State Cops
The state is also disbanding the interdiction team responsible for the traffic stop.
Prominent Civil Liberties Groups Anticipate Life Under President Donald Trump
If Trump makes good on his many threats to curtail liberty, there will be resistance.
ExxonMobil Climate 'Fraud' Follies Update: Activist 'Conspirators' Don't Shred Your Documents
What did the Union of Concerned Scientists know and when did it know it?
DOJ Uses Vague Court Request to Try to Demand People Unlock Any Fingerprint-Locked Phones
Amid debate over encryption access, feds try to just sneak right through.
Sen. Mike Lee Thinks Merrick Garland Will Be a 'Lock Step' Liberal Vote on SCOTUS
But what about Fourth Amendment cases?
Class-Action Lawsuit Targets New York's Abusive NYPD-Controlled Eviction Program
People's homes and businesses threatened unless they sign away rights.
Utah Cop Arrests Shaken but Sober Car Crash Victim for DUI
The officer thought Amanda Houghton's unsteadiness was suspicious enough to justify handcuffs and a chest pat-down.
Pre-Dawn No-Knock SWAT Raid for Minor Drug Charge Ruled Unconstitutional
2015 militarized raid resulted in "fifth-degree drug possession." That's the lowest drug charge possible.
Supreme Court to Weigh 'Malicious Prosecution' and the 4th Amendment
SCOTUS will hear oral arguments this week in Manuel v. City of Joliet.
Trump's Phony Crime Crisis
FBI numbers refute his portrait of a nation besieged by violent thugs.
NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Suggests that Obama Pardon Him
It's a good idea and the right thing to do.
Airbnb Sues To Defend Itself from City Regulations; Santa Monica Latest Target
The company insists forcing it to be liable for its hosts' misbehavior violates the Communications Decency Act, and forcing it to collect and deliver information on hosts to city violates Stored Communications Act.
Big Corporations Band Together to Fight the Government's Secrecy in Collecting Citizen Data
The Justice Dept. doesn't think we need to know when they're looking at info about us.
'Pre-Search' Is Coming to U.S. Policing
Does the Fourth Amendment protect against unreasonable searches before the fact?
