Cops Say Encryption Hinders Investigations. These Documents Say Otherwise.
Law enforcers have plenty of tools; they just want to paw through our data without effort or expense.
Fourth Amendment
Judge Orders FBI To Halt Forfeiture of Cash, Jewelry From Safe Deposit Boxes
The FBI provided "no factual basis for the seizure," Judge R. Gary Klausner wrote.
SCOTUS Refuses 'To Print a New Permission Slip for Entering the Home Without a Warrant'
Fourth Amendment advocates win big in Lange v. California.
Cops Punched a Man Hanging From a Window and Tased Him After He Fell. They Got Qualified Immunity.
But the appeals court wasn't having it.
Congress Weighs a Moratorium on Facial Recognition and Biometric Surveillance Technologies
And it's not a moment too soon.
Cops Now Need a Warrant for 23andMe and AncestryDNA Searches in Maryland and Montana
Two states have passed laws requiring court approval before the cops can use genetic genealogy services to track down a suspect.
Feds Seize CNN Reporter's Data, Then Gag CNN
If this doubly punitive anti-press maneuver sounds familiar, that's because it keeps happening, including to Reason.
The FBI Returned This Innocent Couple's Safe Deposit Box. It Refuses To Give Back Many Others—and Is Trying To Seize $85 Million in Cash.
"It makes me feel like the government is preying on the vulnerable and the weak to line their own pockets."
Gorsuch Pushes Stronger Fourth Amendment Protections
Can a cop enter a suspect's home without a warrant if they're in pursuit and have probable cause to believe the suspect has committed a misdemeanor?
Can Republicans Be Persuaded To Restrict Qualified Immunity?
Polling shows a sharp partisan divide on the issue, but it also suggests that compromise might be possible.
The FBI Took Their Safe Deposit Box and Everything Inside It. Two Months Later, They're Still Waiting for It To Be Returned.
"When you've done nothing wrong, you shouldn't be subjected to an investigation," says Paul Snitko, whose box was seized in a March 22 FBI raid of a Beverly Hills business.
See the FBI Dig Through an Innocent Woman's Safe Deposit Box
In a lawsuit, attorneys for the box's owner allege that federal agents conducted an illegal search that may have resulted in the loss of some valuable gold coins.
Federal Cops Attacked a 70-Year-Old Vietnam Veteran and Then Avoided Accountability in Court
The Supreme Court declines to hear arguments in Oliva v. Nivar.
Cops Who Beat a Man After Pulling Him Over for Broken Lights Receive Qualified Immunity
The victim will now have no right to argue his case before a jury in civil court.
The Police Dog Who Cried Drugs at Every Traffic Stop
Cops laugh about “probable cause on four legs” but the damage to innocent lives is real.
Refusing To Show ID Is Not a Crime
George Wingate, who had pulled over on the side of the road to check an engine light, flatly refused to show his ID when a sheriff's deputy demanded it.
A Supreme Court Decision That Did Lasting Damage to the 4th Amendment
How pretextual traffic stops got the judicial stamp of approval.
How Detectives Caught the Golden State Killer—and Unleashed a Catastrophe for Civil Liberties
Police were finally able to catch the serial killer using DNA genealogy databases—violating many innocent people's constitutional right to privacy.
Does This Elderly Veteran Have Any Recourse Against the Federal Cops Who Brutally Assaulted Him?
SCOTUS will soon decide whether to hear José Oliva’s argument that he should be allowed to sue V.A. officers for violating his Fourth Amendment rights.
The FBI Seized Heirlooms, Coins, and Cash From Hundreds of Safe Deposit Boxes in Beverly Hills, Despite Knowing 'Some' Belonged to 'Honest Citizens'
Victims of the FBI's constitutionally dubious raid say they've been told to come forward and identify themselves if they want their stuff back.
Why Is the Justice Department Trying To Punish Derek Chauvin Twice?
The federal charges against Chauvin and three other officers involved in George Floyd's death are more about making a statement than seeking justice.
Report: FBI Misused Foreign Surveillance Powers To Investigate Domestic Crimes
Section 702 is supposed to be used to snoop on spies and terrorists, not Americans.
Warrantless Border Searches Draw Call for Supreme Court Action
The feds say they can paw through your phone and laptop any time you enter or leave the country.
The Cops Trashed Her House. She Says She Was Targeted for Retaliation.
A Virginia lawyer successfully defended her stepson in court. Three days later, police raided her house using a flimsy search warrant.
A Phony Warrant, a Deadly Drug Raid, and a Barrel of Bad Apples in Houston
Did the city's "policies, customs or practices," invite Fourth Amendment violations?
Can Cops Pull You Over for Hanging an Air Freshener From Your Rearview Mirror? You'd Better Check.
Bans on dangling objects are just one example of the myriad petty rules that give police the power to stop nearly any driver at will.
Lawmakers Look To Stop the Feds From Secretly Buying Your Private Data
A 2018 Supreme Court decision was supposed to protect your location data from federal snooping. That’s not what happened.
The Defense Argues That Derek Chauvin's Fear of George Floyd's 'Superhuman Strength' Justified His Deadly Use of Force
"This wasn't policing," the prosecution says. "This was murder."
Although a Defense Witness Says George Floyd's Death Should Not Have Been Deemed a Homicide, His Account Underlines Derek Chauvin's Culpability
The defense rested without calling Chauvin to the stand, and closing arguments are expected on Monday.
A Defense Witness Says the Cops Who Pinned George Floyd to the Pavement Were Not Using Force
That was one of several eyebrow-raising claims made by Barry Brodd, who said Derek Chauvin's actions were "objectively reasonable."
The Prosecution Presented Compelling Evidence That Derek Chauvin Killed George Floyd by Using Excessive Force
The defense will have to cast doubt on at least one of those claims.
Medical Examiner Agrees That the Cops Killed George Floyd
Andrew Baker's account, like the testimony of other medical experts, implicates Derek Chauvin in Floyd's death.
Expert Witnesses Reinforce the Prosecution's Case That Obstructed Breathing Killed George Floyd
The witnesses rejected the defense's suggestion that Floyd might have died from a drug overdose.
Exactly Where Was Derek Chauvin's Knee, and Does It Matter?
A use-of-force expert says the officers who pinned George Floyd to the ground should have recognized the risk of positional asphyxia.
Police Chief Refutes Derek Chauvin's Claim That He Did What He Was Trained to Do
Medaria Arradondo says Chauvin's treatment of George Floyd violated department policy in several important ways.
George Floyd's Prolonged Prone Restraint Was 'Totally Unnecessary,' a Police Lieutenant Testifies
Richard Zimmerman's testimony contradicts the defense claim that Derek Chauvin "did exactly what he had been trained to do."
No Qualified Immunity for Cop Who Shot and Killed a Suicidal Man, Says Federal Court
“An officer violates the Fourth Amendment if he shoots an unarmed, incapacitated suspect who is moving away from everyone present at the scene.”
Derek Chauvin Argues That His Use of Force Was Appropriate and Did Not Kill George Floyd
The defense will have a hard time showing that Chauvin's conduct was justified by any threat Floyd posed.
Government Drone Overflights May Violate Fourth Amendment, Trigger Exclusionary Rule
An interesting Michigan appellate decision.
Shooting a Fleeing Suspect Who Escapes Still Triggers the Fourth Amendment, Says SCOTUS
"The application of physical force to the body with the intent to restrain is a seizure, even if the person does not submit and is not subdued."
Sonia Sotomayor Questions Warrantless Gun Seizure in Big Fourth Amendment Case
“There was no immediate danger,” Sotomayor said, yet the police “decided on their own to go in and seize the gun.”
The Cops Who Drew Guns and Forced an Innocent Family To Lie on the Pavement Were Dismayed by the Angry Response
After gratuitously terrifying a 6-year-old girl, the officers blamed her mother, who also had done nothing illegal.
'The Best Chief in America,' Newly Hired To Run Miami's Police Department, Presided Over Deadly Corruption in Houston
Art Acevedo responded to a 2019 drug raid that killed a middle-aged couple with reflexive defensiveness and obstinate obfuscation.
A Lawyer for George Floyd's Family Says a Record-Breaking Settlement Gives Cities '27 Million Reasons' To Curtail Police Abuse
But the agreement could complicate Derek Chauvin's murder trial, and it leaves unresolved the question of whether qualified immunity would have blocked the lawsuit.
A Reinstated Third-Degree Murder Charge Gives Jurors Another Option To Convict Derek Chauvin for Killing George Floyd
Like the felony murder charge, it carries a presumptive sentence more than eight years longer than the manslaughter charge.
So Long as You Carry a Cellphone, the Government Can Track You
A phone in your pocket may as well be a GPS beacon strapped to your ankle.
SCOTUS Rules Against an Innocent Man Who Was Choked and Beaten by Cops, but He May Still Get His Day in Court
The justices did not address one of James King's key arguments, which the 6th Circuit will now consider.
