Mass Surveillance Is Powering a New Era of Pretextual Traffic Stops
An extensive network of automatic license plate readers is being used to develop predictive intelligence to stop vehicles, violating Americans’ rights.
Fourth Amendment
Trump Says Legislators Committed Treason by Noting That Soldiers Are Not Obligated To Obey Unlawful Orders
The president's authoritarian response to a video posted by six members of Congress, who he says "should be arrested and put on trial," validates their concerns.
Federal Agents Can Continue To Use Riot Control Weapons in Chicago With Limited Oversight Amid Pending Appeal
The ruling comes as federal immigration agents leave Chicago for operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, and New Orleans.
Misconduct in the James Comey Case Stemmed From a Reckless Rush To Indict Him
A magistrate judge says the government’s missteps may warrant dismissal of the charges against the former FBI director.
Missouri Town Will Pay $500K To Settle Lawsuit Over Deputy Shooting Blind and Deaf Dog
The Animal Legal Defense Fund says it's one of the largest settlements for the police killing of a dog.
Federal Immigration Agents Accused of Tear-Gassing Peaceful Protestors, Pointing Gun at Veterans in Chicago
The actions would violate a federal order imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sara L. Ellis to limit the use of nonlethal weapons and other crowd control tactics.
A D.C. Man Was Arrested for Mocking National Guard Troops with Star Wars' 'Imperial March.' Now He's Suing.
Sam O'Hara went viral for playing "The Imperial March" behind groups of National Guard soldiers in D.C. He also says it led to him being illegally detained.
ICE Is Mounting a Mass Surveillance Campaign on American Citizens
Without strict oversight, the agency’s new technology threatens Americans’ free speech and privacy.
Hoover Webinar with Orin Kerr on His "The Digital Fourth Amendment"
I interviewed Orin on this program earlier this month; seems quite popular, 108K views so far.
SCOTUS Probably Won't Put Any New Limits on Warrantless Home Searches
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week about the "emergency aid exception" to the Fourth Amendment.
Can Police Enter Your Home Without a Warrant? The Supreme Court Will Soon Decide.
Even well-intentioned “community caretaking” can’t justify ignoring the Fourth Amendment.
Treasury Department Surveillance at the Southern Border Faces Fourth Amendment Challenges
A new FinCEN rule forced small money services businesses to collect personal data on nearly every customer transaction. Lawsuits claim this violates the Fourth Amendment.
Warrantless Searches, Tariffs, and the Unitary Executive: 3 SCOTUS Cases To Watch This Fall
In a new Supreme Court term packed with big cases, these disputes stand out.
ICE Arrested a U.S. Citizen—Twice—During Alabama Construction Site Raids. Now He's Suing.
“I got arrested twice for being a Latino working in construction,” says Leo Garcia Venegas, the lead plaintiff in a new lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice challenging warrantless ICE raids on construction sites.
DHS Collected DNA from 2,000 U.S. Citizens Without Due Process. It's Now in a Law Enforcement Database.
By expanding federal agents' authority to collect the DNA of immigrant detainees, the government has risked violating Americans’ rights.
Louisiana Cops Beat a Naked Inmate During a Strip Search. Long Withheld Video Shows He Was Compliant.
Although the officers were eventually criminally convicted, Jarius Brown is still pursuing damages to cover the medical expenses for serious injuries to his face, nose, and chest.
Kavanaugh Flouts the Fourth Amendment and Blesses Trump's Racial Profiling
The justice’s stance on immigration enforcement is undermined by the facts of the case before him.
Supreme Court Issues Dubious "Shadow Docket" Ruling Staying Injunction Against Racial Profiling in Immigration Enforcement
There is no majority opinion, so the reasoning is unclear. But Justice Kavanaugh's concurring opinion undercuts principle that government must abjure racial discrimination.
Florida Deputies Jailed Her for 3 Days Even Though She Was Obviously Not the Suspect Described in a Warrant
A federal judge cleared the way for Jennifer Heath Box's lawsuit against the cops who misidentified her as a fugitive, despite a "mountain of evidence" that they had the wrong woman.
'Botched' Drug Raids Show How Prohibition Invites Senseless Violence
The war on drugs authorizes police conduct that otherwise would be readily recognized as criminal.
Do Cops Still Need a Warrant To Search Your Home in an 'Emergency'?
SCOTUS will soon decide.
D.C. Residents Are Right To Protest Unconstitutional Police Roadblocks
Checkpoints for general crime control are illegal and smack of a police state.
Automated License Plate Readers Are Watching You
The technology enables routine surveillance that would have troubled the Fourth Amendment’s framers.
Trump Asks Supreme Court To Bless Racial Profiling by Immigration Agents
The federal government has embraced unconstitutional tactics and now wants SCOTUS to do the same.
Trump's Immigration Crackdown Imperils the Fourth Amendment Rights of U.S. Citizens
A federal court says U.S. citizens “are likely to succeed in showing” that immigration agents violated their rights.
Veteran With PTSD Can Sue the Cops Who Arrested Him for Panhandling and Tased His Service Dog, Court Rules
Joshua Rohrer's dog, Sunshine, ran away and was later hit and killed by a car.
An Arkansas Town Agrees To Remove a License Plate Camera Aimed at a Couple's Home
Local officials initially were unfazed by complaints that the constant surveillance raised serious privacy concerns.
The FBI Seized Her $40,000 Without Explaining Why. She Fought Back Against That Practice—and Lost.
The twist underscores just how little accountability exists in civil forfeiture, which allows law enforcement to seize assets without charging the owner with a crime.
5 Years After Breonna Taylor Was Killed, 1 Officer Gets 33 Months
Brett Hankison was convicted of violating Breonna Taylor’s Fourth Amendment rights during a fatal no-knock police raid.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for a Child-Snatching Texas Cop Who Falsely Alleged Abandonment
Alexandra Weaver argued that she could not reasonably have been expected to know her actions were unconstitutional.
No Qualified Immunity for School District Police Officer Who Seized Home-Schooled 14-Year-Old from Home
The child, and her 12-year-old brother, were left under the supervision of a neighbor by the mother, who left town for six days for a foreign job interview.
New Orleans City Council Considers Ordinance To Adopt Real-Time Facial Recognition Technology
America is slipping steadily down the slippery slope to a surveillance state.
Federal Courts Shrug at Potentially Lethal Wrong-Door Raids
Cops should not be free to forgo the modicum of care required to make sure they’re in the right place.
'Don't You Want To Confirm Who I Am?' a Mistakenly Arrested Grandmother Asked the Marshals. They Did Not.
Penny McCarthy is suing the federal agents who insisted she was a fugitive despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Arresting Someone for Violating a Probation Condition That Doesn't Exist …
would violate the Fourth Amendment, holds the Eleventh Circuit.
Denver Case Highlights the Potentially Deadly Hazards of Police Raids Based on Secondhand Information
Michael Mendenhall wants the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that allows home invasions based on nothing but hearsay.
Government Seeks Search Warrant for Cell Phone Because It Might Have Photos of a Gun
No, says a magistrate judge.
A Federal Judge Says New Mexico Cops Reasonably Killed an Innocent Man at the Wrong House
U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia rejected the argument that the officers "recklessly created the need to apply deadly force by going to the wrong address."
The Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects a 'Very Narrow Approach' to Deadly Force by Police
The decision revives a lawsuit against a Texas officer who shot a driver after endangering himself by jumping onto a moving car.
The IRS Says Your Digital Life Is Not Your Property
A Supreme Court case could determine whether Americans own their digital data—or whether the government can take that information without a warrant.
Justice Department Memo Claims Alien Enemies Act Allows Warrantless Home Searches and No Judicial Review
The memo says "Alien Enemies" aren't subject "to a judicial review of the removal in any court of the United States."
Border Cops Try To Make an End Run Around Attorney-Client Privilege
Detroit lawyer Amir Makled has confidential client data on his phone. That didn’t stop U.S. Customs and Border Protection from trying to search it.
What To Do If Border Police Ask To Search Your Phone
Know how much the law does—and doesn’t—protect your privacy rights.
Will ICE Use the Alien Enemies Act To Enter Homes Without Warrants?
Already this year, the agency has allegedly conducted a warrantless raid in Newark and several warrantless arrests in the Midwest.
The FBI Seized This Woman's Life Savings—Without Telling Her Why
Linda Martin's lawsuit alleges that the agency violated her right to due process when it took her $40,200 and sent her a notice failing to articulate the reason.
A SWAT Team Raided This Innocent Family's Home. The Supreme Court Won't Hear Their Case.
Whether or not a reasonable police officer violates clearly established law when he declines to check the features and address of his target house before raiding it is thus still up for debate.
