Fourth Amendment

Cellphones

Here's Why You Shouldn't Use the Fingerprint Password on Smartphones in Virginia

Judge rules suspects can be compelled to use fingerprint to provide police access.

Reason Staff | 10.31.2014 2:20 PM

Civil Liberties

Cops Kill Family Dog In Front of 12-Year-Old Girl During Warrantless Backyard Search, Federal Court Orders Jury Trial

Damon Root | 10.31.2014 11:51 AM

Civil Liberties

FBI Knocks Out Hotel-Casino Internet, Agents 'Fix' It Without Warrant

Zenon Evans | 10.30.2014 3:00 PM

Civil Liberties

'Sneak and Peek' Warrants Intended for Terrorism Mostly Used in Drug Cases

J.D. Tuccille | 10.28.2014 5:57 PM

Policy

SCOTUS Will Review City Law Authorizing Warrantless Police Inspection of Hotel Guest Registries

Damon Root | 10.20.2014 1:50 PM

Civil Liberties

Your Driving History is Public, Unless You Want a Copy

Patrick Hannaford | 10.16.2014 4:35 PM

Civil Liberties

Florida Supreme Court Rules Cell Phone Location Data Protected by 4th Amendment

Reason Staff | 10.16.2014 12:50 PM

Policy

Fictional Infractions and Furry Judges

Two cases give the Supreme Court a chance to limit cops' broad power to stop and search your car.

Jacob Sullum | 10.13.2014 7:00 AM

Policy

SCOTUS Should Limit Cops' Dangerously Broad Power to Stop and Search Your Car

Jacob Sullum | 10.9.2014 7:00 AM

Policy

Feds: If FBI Conducted Warrantless Hack of Silk Road, It Was Legal Because Servers Were Foreign

Zenon Evans | 10.8.2014 2:55 PM

Civil Liberties

Intrusive National Security Letters Get Appeals Court Scrutiny

J.D. Tuccille | 10.8.2014 12:08 PM

Policy

Supreme Court Weighs Police Officer's 'Mistake of Law' in Fourth Amendment Case

Damon Root | 10.6.2014 5:30 PM

Policy

Today at SCOTUS: Police Errors vs. the Fourth Amendment

Damon Root | 10.6.2014 8:40 AM

Policy

SCOTUS to Decide How Long Cops Can Wait for a Four-Legged Search Warrant

Jacob Sullum | 10.3.2014 2:14 PM

Politics

Welcome Back, SCOTUS: 3 Supreme Court Cases to Watch in October 2014

The high court prepares to tackle aggressive police tactics, religious liberty for prisoners, and occupational licensing abuse.

Damon Root | 10.2.2014 4:31 PM

Politics

Proposed Ordinance Would Give Cops an Invitation to All the Cool Parties

Jacob Sullum | 9.19.2014 5:56 PM

Policy

Asset Forfeiture Laws 'Evil' and 'Unreformable,' Say Former Justice Department Officials

Patrick Hannaford | 9.19.2014 3:10 PM

Policy

Federal Appeals Court Rebukes Florida Cops for Using SWAT-Style Raids to Check Barbers' Licenses

Jacob Sullum | 9.16.2014 6:30 PM

Civil Liberties

TSA Demands to Search Man AFTER Plane Lands. He Filmed His Response.

Zenon Evans | 9.15.2014 2:40 PM

Policy

How Cops Became Robbers

Three features of civil forfeiture law and five Supreme Court decisions make it easy for police to take money from motorists.

Jacob Sullum | 9.15.2014 8:30 AM

Policy

How Cops Got a License to Steal Your Money

Jacob Sullum | 9.12.2014 11:07 AM

Civil Liberties

Tacoma PD Joins the Ranks of Police Agencies Concealing Use of Cellphone Trackers

J.D. Tuccille | 8.27.2014 10:35 AM

Drones

California Senate Bans Warrantless Police Drones—Hooray!

Ronald Bailey | 8.27.2014 9:41 AM

Policy

Bloomberg's Stop-and-Frisk Explosion Looks Ineffective As Well As Unconstitutional

Jacob Sullum | 8.22.2014 3:43 PM

Civil Liberties

Connecticut Court Says Cops Can Detain You For Being Near Someone That's Getting Arrested

Brittany Morrisey | 8.6.2014 4:45 PM

Fourth Amendment

Reasonable! Missouri Voters Overwhelmingly Pass Amendment Extending 4A Protections to Electronic Devices, Data

Ed Krayewski | 8.6.2014 2:37 PM

FBI

Brickbat: If You Have Nothing to Hide

Charles Oliver | 8.6.2014 7:05 AM

Edward Snowden

Ron Paul Argues for Clemency for NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden

Ronald Bailey | 8.5.2014 12:33 PM

Drones

California Assembly Passes Bill Requiring Police to Get a Warrant for Surveillance Drones

Ronald Bailey | 8.5.2014 11:46 AM

Politics

The Drug War, the Fourth Amendment, and Anal Cavity Searches in New Mexico

Paul Feine and Alex Manning | 8.2.2014 3:00 PM

Civil Liberties

U.S. Firms Dealt Another Blow by Order to Microsoft to Surrender Overseas Emails

J.D. Tuccille | 8.1.2014 12:07 PM

Civil Liberties

When a Cop Knocks on the Window, Just Drive Away (in Wisconsin)

J.D. Tuccille | 7.30.2014 3:04 PM

Policy

Federal Judge to Camera-Shy Austin Cops: People Have a Right to Record You. Deal With It.

Jacob Sullum | 7.25.2014 1:08 PM

Police

Security Crackdown After Brooklyn Bridge White Flag Stunt

Ronald Bailey | 7.25.2014 12:02 PM

Civil Liberties

San Diego Cops Say Detaining, Photographing Strippers Just Part of Their Job

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 7.18.2014 5:15 PM

Civil Liberties

Marijuana Smell Doesn't Justify Car Searches, Says MA Court

J.D. Tuccille | 7.17.2014 2:08 PM

Politics

Obama Administration Defends 'Almost-Orwellian' NSA in Federal Court

Damon Root | 7.15.2014 11:53 AM

Civil Liberties

'Total Population Control' is NSA's Goal, Says Whistleblower

J.D. Tuccille | 7.11.2014 2:02 PM

Politics

Tonight on The Independents: UPDATED: Glenn Greenwald on his NSA Scoop, Bloodshed in the Middle East, Pot Shortage in Washington, China vs. the U.S., Crosswalk Entrapment, Serial-Killer Real Estate and Spanking Bans

Matt Welch | 7.9.2014 2:13 PM

Policy

The NSA's Online Dragnet

Warrantless surveillance hits the target, along with many other people.

Jacob Sullum | 7.9.2014 7:00 AM

NSA

If You Want the NSA to Monitor You, Do This.

Ronald Bailey | 7.8.2014 11:05 AM

Policy

Cop Rats Out His Daughter-in-Law After Helping Her Grow Marijuana for His Cancer-Stricken Granddaughter

Jacob Sullum | 7.7.2014 3:10 PM

NSA

If You're Connected to the Internet, the NSA Always Has Ways of Spying On You

Ronald Bailey | 7.1.2014 2:32 PM

Politics

Obama's Disappointing Year at the Supreme Court

From recess appointments to warrantless cellphone searches to Obamacare, the White House lost big this term at SCOTUS.

Damon Root | 7.1.2014 7:00 AM

Politics

'Get a Warrant': John Roberts Gives the Cops a Benchslap in Riley v. California

Damon Root | 6.25.2014 3:16 PM