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."
Fourth Amendment
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?
Appeals Court Says Colorado Plates Don't Justify Detaining Drivers in Kansas
Reasonable suspicion of marijuana smuggling requires more than living in a state that allows medical or recreational use.
Stephen Breyer, Advocate of Pro-Police Judicial Deference, Turns 78 Today
The liberal jurist was born on this day in 1938.
Unreasonable Searches Are Unconstitutional—and Common
Justice Dept. report on Baltimore Police shows little respect for the Fourth Amendment.
Cops Who Stop Drivers to Give Them Stuff Are Abusing Their Power
Keep your ice cream, and I'll keep my freedom.
Woman Kidnapped and Sexually Assaulted by Drug Warriors Gets $1.6 Million
After a dog supposedly alerted to her at a border crossing, she endured six hours of fruitless body cavity searches.
GOP Platform Wants It Both Ways on Encryption
The infamous concept of 'balance' rears its head.
Faulty Tests Create Fake Drug Crimes
Cops and prosecutors continue to put unjustified faith in notoriously unreliable field kits.
The ACLU Counts the Ways Trump Would Violate Civil Liberties
On immigration, surveillance, torture, and press freedom, Trump's ideas are not just bad-they're unconstitutional.
Lying Drug Tests Incriminate Innocent People
Unreliable field kits result in false convictions as well as false accusations.
The Fourth Amendment Gets Its Own House Caucus to Demand Its Respect
Coalition of 25 bipartisan lawmakers organizes against unwarranted surveillance and data collection.
Despite Medical Marijuana, Pot Smell Justifies Searches in Arizona
The state's top court rules that the odor of plants or burnt bud provides probable cause "in most circumstances."
Sonia Sotomayor Stands Up for the Fourth Amendment
Justice Sotomayor emerges as an outspoken Fourth Amendment defender.
Supreme Court Says 4th Amendment Prohibits Warrantless Blood Tests of Suspected Drunk Drivers
But SCOTUS does allow warrantless DUI breath tests incident to arrest.
Sonia Sotomayor Blasts SCOTUS for Excusing 'Lawless Police Conduct' in 4th Amendment Case
The Supreme Court issues its decision in Utah v. Strieff.
Bill to Require Warrants to Read Old Emails May Be Dead
Senate amendments attempt to increase government snooping authority.
The Fourth Amendment Is Supposed to Work for the People, Not the Government
The FBI thinks the constitutional right to privacy is a pain in the neck and they'd prefer to do without it.
Michigan High School Student Sues Over Warrantless Breathalyzer Test
The student is challenging a local ordinance and a state law for being in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Appeals Court: No Warrant Needed to Get Cellphone Location Data
Ruling overturns panel decision in favor of privacy rights.
Canadian Businesswoman Says Three Male CBP Officers Sexually Assaulted Her
They searched her body cavities for drugs, which they did not find.
Lawsuit Says Detroit Cops Shot Confined Dog Through Bathroom Door
Owners say the officers, who were serving a drug warrant, also killed two other dogs who posed no threat.
Arkansas Trooper Steals $20,000, Because Nobody Innocent Carries That Much Cash
Prosecutors tried to drop the forfeiture case, but the judge would not let them.
After Arresting Driver for Silence, Cops Tell Her She Has a Right to Remain Silent
New Jersey state troopers said declining to answer a question is a crime.
No Charges Against Cop Who Got Into a Deadly Struggle After a Door Hit His Foot
Determined to arrest John Livingston for assaulting his pride, Deputy Nicholas Kehagias ended up shooting him dead.
The Fourth Amendment and the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
The USA Freedom Act provides cover for unconstitutional searches of citizens.
House Passes Bill Requiring Search Warrants to Access Your Old Emails
Current federal law treats online communications stored after 180 days as abandoned.
Justice Kennedy to Government Lawyer: 'You're Asking Us to Make It a Crime to Exercise What Many People Think Of As a Constitutional Right'
SCOTUS hears arguments in Birchfield v. North Dakota.
Today at SCOTUS: Warrantless Drunk Driving Tests and the Fourth Amendment
Supreme Court weighs constitutional rights against law enforcement powers.
Another Sexual Assault in Service of the Drug War
A lawsuit by a Pennsylvania woman describes a humiliating five-hour ordeal that discovered nothing.
