CBP Really Doesn't Want To Reveal What It Does to Americans' Phones
A judge ruled that the border agency has to give a clearer explanation for why it seized a traveler’s phone without a warrant.
Search and Seizure
Connecticut's New Restrictions on Flock Cameras Highlight the Dearth of Meaningful Privacy Protections
Until recently, the state imposed no limits at all on automated license plate readers, which track the travels of innocent motorists across the country.
Border Cops Seize Nurse's Phone Filled With Psychiatric Patient Information
CBP allegedly told the nurse that “your lawyer cannot do anything” and agents can take the data “the easy way or the hard way.”
The Feds Took $460,000 From This Arizona Convenience Store Owner and Never Explained Why
Mario Ayala is seeking the return of his property, which federal agents seized more than a year and a half ago for reasons that remain mysterious.
Homeland Security Lied About Child Porn To Search Activist's Phone
The feds are charging Samuel Tunick for destroying his phone at the border. Court documents show that they refused him a lawyer and lied about why he was searched.
2 Recent Cases Illustrate the Limits of a Doctrine That Often Blocks Civil Rights Claims
Federal appeals courts rejected qualified immunity for cops and a judge who flouted longstanding constitutional principles.
The 8th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for a Judge Who Jailed 2 Kids for 'Refusing To Follow Directions'
Frustrated by the children's resistance to a parental custody decision, Judge Eric Eighmy locked them in cells until they became more cooperative.
Other Courts Should Heed a Federal Judge's Warning About Flock-Enabled Mass Surveillance
Car-tracking cameras, like cellphones, generate vast amounts of sensitive data.
Are Warrantless Phone Searches at the Border Constitutional? The Supreme Court May Soon Decide.
The case of George Anibowei, a U.S. citizen who has had his phone searched at least five times at the border, shows just how invasive border agents have become.
Despite a Notable Victory in Oklahoma, Legal Challenges to Flock Cameras Still Face Long Odds
State and federal courts have almost uniformly ruled that searches of ALPR databases do not implicate the Fourth Amendment.
2 Lawsuits Cast Further Doubt on the Claim That ICE Agent Jonathan Ross Killed Renée Good in Self-Defense
According to complaints filed by Good's family, Ross was not in any danger when he fired three shots into her car.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for Cops Who Searched a Driver After a Bogus Traffic Stop
"It is clearly established that an officer cannot pull someone over without reasonable suspicion and thereafter concoct a fabricated traffic violation," the appeals court says.
Border Agents Search Phones Without Warrants. This Case Asks the Supreme Court if That's Constitutional
Federal appeals courts differ on whether the Fourth Amendment protects your cellphone at the border. A Texas lawyer is asking the Supreme Court to settle it.
Court Upholds Suspicionless Cellphone Searches at the Border
A federal appeals court says it's legal for federal agents to scroll through your phone and take pictures of its contents without a warrant or suspicion of criminal activity.
Why Conservative Republicans Are Worried About License Plate Cameras
Recent comments by Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis reflect a bipartisan backlash against warrantless surveillance.
A Federal Indictment Charges an ICE Officer With Lying About a Shooting That DHS Eagerly Defended
The habitually dishonest department uncritically accepted a story that was immediately contradicted by video footage and physical evidence.
The Belated Backlash Against Flock Cameras
Americans are starting to recognize the dangers of pervasive surveillance by automated license plate readers.
He Spent Nearly 6 Years in Prison Based on the Word of a Notoriously Dishonest Houston Drug Cop
In a federal lawsuit, Byron Prophet argues that police supervisors "turned a blind eye" for years as Gerald Goines framed innocent people.
Kansas Lawsuit: ALPRs Turn a License Plate Into the 'Functional Equivalent' of a 'GPS Tracking Device'
The Kansas Justice Institute argues that Wichita's "warrantless ALPR dragnet surveillance program" violates the state constitution's privacy protections.
Records Show the Government Illegally Surveilled James Comey and Confirm the Absurdity of Its Case Against Him
The Secret Service asserted a nonexistent "emergency" to track Comey's cellphone, and the FBI's evidence falls far short of proving his seashell picture was a crime.
Border Agents Can Lie To Search Your Phone, but Wiping Your Own Data Could Land You in Prison
The government is charging Samuel Tunick for telling them a code that would erase all the data on his phone—after they tried to take it on false pretenses.
Pennsylvania's Top Court Unanimously Rejects Warrantless Searches of Private Land
The justices said the "open fields" doctrine, a sweeping exception to constitutional privacy protections, does not apply in the Keystone State.
Police Used a Truck Inspection To Search for Drugs. The 7th Circuit Said the Fourth Amendment Forbids It.
Cops stopped a semitruck because of a drug tip, then tried to dress the illegal search up as a routine inspection.
A Trump-Appointed Judge Quashes a Subpoena Aimed at Validating the President's Stolen-Election Fantasy
The decision rebukes the DOJ for demanding "private and sensitive" information about Georgia election workers "with no legitimate law enforcement purpose."
The Supreme Court's 'Reasonable Expectation of Privacy' Test Defies Expectations
Neil Gorsuch proposes an alternative to a Fourth Amendment standard that has proven to be an unreliable safeguard against government snooping.
Neil Gorsuch Urges Supreme Court To Correct 2 Wrong Turns That Undermined Civil Liberties
The justice criticizes the Court’s endorsement of coercive plea bargaining and its embrace of dubious Fourth Amendment doctrines.
In Chatrie, Neil Gorsuch Reiterates His Critique of 2 Dubious Fourth Amendment Doctrines
The justice argues that the "reasonable expectation of privacy" test and the third-party doctrine are indefensible in theory and unworkable in practice.
Rejected Search Warrant Applications Raise Further Questions About the Federal Case Against Don Lemon
After a magistrate judge said a DHS investigator had failed to establish probable cause, the government decided it did not need the YouTube and iPhone records after all.
Ken Paxton's Primary Victory Shows How Trump's Grudges Undermine His Party's Interests
The president's last-minute endorsement of Paxton was driven by his petty grievances against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who was clearly the safer bet to retain the seat.
A Tennessee Man Jailed for 37 Days Because of an Anti-Trump Meme Will Get $835,000 for His Trouble
Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems preposterously claimed that Larry Bushart had threatened "mass violence" at a school.
A State Assault Case Against an ICE Agent Could Illustrate the Limits of Supremacy Clause Immunity
That defense applies only when an officer "reasonably" believed he was acting within his federal authority.
Filming Cops Is a First Amendment Right. The Feds Keep Harassing People for It Anyway.
Most federal appeals courts have recognized the right to record police. DHS employees nevertheless seem to view it as a crime.
A SCOTUS Case Exposes the Dangers of 2 Misguided Fourth Amendment Doctrines
"Geofence" searches illustrate the perilous combination of modern technology and deference to law enforcement.
Houston Irks Texas Gov. Greg Abbott by Reminding Cops To Comply With the Fourth Amendment
The governor is threatening to defund the police because of an ordinance noting that an ICE administrative warrant "does not justify a stop, arrest, or continued detention" by city officers.
San Jose's 'Creepy' and 'Deeply Intrusive' ALPR Camera System Is Unconstitutional, a New Lawsuit Says
The city has created a network of nearly 500 cameras that routinely monitor innocent people as they go about their daily lives.
Innocent Property Owners Deserve 'Just Compensation' When Cops Wreck Their Homes or Businesses
Two petitions ask the Supreme Court to uphold the remedy required by the Fifth Amendment.
A Jury Approves Damages After 2 Texas Cops Snatched a Supposedly 'Abandoned' Girl From Her Home
The jurors concluded that the officers violated the Fourth and 14th amendments when they seized a 14-year-old without evidence that she was in danger.
The DOJ Wants To Drop Charges Against 2 Cops Who Played a Crucial Role in Breonna Taylor's Death
But for a fraudulent and misleading warrant affidavit, Taylor would not have been killed during a fruitless late-night drug raid.
Department of Homeland Security
Markwayne Mullin's History of Condoning Murder and Resisting Transparency Makes Him Ill-Suited To Run DHS
The Oklahoma senator, nominated to replace Kristi Noem, is blasé about the use of deadly force.
Controversial Geofence Warrants Face Supreme Court Challenge
Technological innovations allow the authorities to see who has visited whole geographic areas.
Department of Homeland Security
In Senate Testimony on DHS Shootings, Kristi Noem Lies About Her Lies
The homeland security secretary blatantly misrepresented what she said about Alex Pretti on the day he was killed.
Iowa Officials Arrested This Guy for Criticizing Them—Twice. A Federal Judge Says They Are Liable.
A mayor and a police chief "mistook their authority to maintain order for a license to suppress criticism," says U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose.
Department of Homeland Security
Prosecutors Admit the DHS Account of an ICE Shooting Was Based on Lies
The department's pattern of dishonesty supports a presumption of irregularity.
The Minneapolis Shootings Underline the Advantages of Body Cameras, Which DHS Has Been Slow To Adopt
A pending appropriations bill could increase transparency and accountability by requiring DHS personnel to record encounters with the public.
DHS Retreats From the Claim That the Agents Who Killed Alex Pretti Faced a 'Violent Riot'
The department now describes the threat as "several civilians" who were "yelling and blowing whistles."
Alex Pretti's Death Widens a Split Between Trump and Gun Rights Groups
Federal officials suggested that carrying a firearm is inherently threatening and an invitation to police violence.
Border Patrol Agents Started the Scuffle That Led to Alex Pretti's Death
As with Renee Good, a calmer response could have avoided the lethal outcome.
Trump Backpedals From Portraying Alex Pretti As a 'Domestic Terrorist' and 'Would-Be Assassin'
Although the president initially reinforced that plainly inaccurate narrative, his subsequent comments cast doubt on the initial justification for shooting the Minneapolis protester.
