A Sniff by a Pot-Detecting Dog Requires Probable Cause and Does Not Justify a Search, Says Colorado Supreme Court
Marijuana legalization changes the constitutional status of canine olfactory inspections.
Search and Seizure
In Deadly Drug Raid Case, a Texas County Refuses to Release Information It Has Already Released
Contradictory responses to a request for autopsy reports illustrate how law enforcement agencies take advantage of a broad exception to the state's public records law.
Forensic Experts Find 'No Evidence' That Houston Narcs Who Killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas Encountered Gunfire As They Entered the House
The physical evidence at the scene seems inconsistent with the story told by the officers who conducted the no-knock drug raid.
Houston Police Shot Man Killed in Fraudulent Drug Raid at Least Eight Times
Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, who was shot twice, were pronounced dead shortly after police invaded their home based on a "controlled buy" that never happened.
Texas Cops Arrest About 45,000 Drivers a Year for Minor Traffic Offenses
A new report finds that such arrests are most common in Waco, while resulting injuries are most common in Houston.
Houston Narcs Implicated in Deadly Drug Raid Will Soon Be Collecting Pensions
The officer accused of falsifying the no-knock warrant for the home invasion that killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas retired last Friday.
Going to Burning Man? The Feds Want You Searched for Drugs
Can the government demand a warrantless search with no probable cause of ticket holders as a condition of issuing an event permit?
After Deadly Drug Raid on His Watch, Houston's Top Cop Lists Reforms, Praises Himself
Art Acevedo plans to limit no-knock raids and give narcotics officers body cameras but wants credit for not covering up a cop's search warrant lies.
Phony Houston Drug Warrant Prompts FBI Investigation and Review of 1,400 Cases
Lying to justify a search that killed two people could be a capital crime.
Reacting to Deadly Raid, Houston Police Chief Promises to Restrict No-Knock Warrants
Art Acevedo also said police entering homes will soon start wearing body cameras.
Houston Narc Who Lied to Justify a Deadly Drug Raid Had Been Accused of Perjury
"I don't have any indication it's a pattern," Police Chief Art Acevedo says.
C.I. Whose Heroin Buy Led to a Deadly Houston Drug Raid Does Not Seem to Exist
An application for a warrant to search a narcotics officer's cellphone reveals that police have been unable to identify the informant.
U.S. Citizens Sue Border Patrol Agent Who Detained Them for Speaking Spanish
The ACLU argues that the 40-minute detention violated the Fourth and 14th amendments.
Here Is What Police Found (and Didn't) After Deadly Houston Drug Raid
The search warrant inventory does not include any evidence of drug dealing.
Houston Cop Involved in Deadly Drug Raid Relieved of Duty Due to 'Ongoing Questions'
The questions reportedly relate to a search warrant affidavit that described drugs and a gun police never found.
One Deadly Drug Raid and Two Red Herrings
Neither gun control nor uncritical support of the police can stop the violence required by the war on drugs.
Houston Narcs Were 'Clearly Labeled' During Deadly Drug Raid, Police Spokesman Says
In light of armed robberies by criminals posing as cops, that might not have been enough.
Did the Couple Killed by Houston Narcs Know Who the Armed Intruders Were?
Police Chief Art Acevedo seems to think cops cannot be shot in self-defense.
No-Knock Warrant for Deadly Drug Raid Describes Heroin and a Gun Cops Didn't Find
Houston narcotics officers thought bursting into the house without warning was the cautious approach.
Supreme Court to Consider Whether Police Can Order Blood Draws from Unconscious Drivers
Warrantless "implied consent" laws are under review over Fourth Amendment concerns.
Judge Blocks New York City Law Demanding Airbnb Share Reams of Private Host Data
Online room-sharing services had no avenue to legally challenge demands for private info.
Kansas Supreme Court Says Cops Can Search Your Home Without a Warrant If They Claim It Smells Like Pot
Cops supposedly smelled 25 grams of pot inside a plastic container inside a safe inside a closet 30 feet from a guy's doorstep.
My Daughter's Middle School Plans to Teach Her Meek Compliance With Indiscriminate Invasions of Privacy
It's never too early for kids to learn that harebrained security theater is an unavoidable fact of life.
Bloomberg and Trump Share a Love of Stop and Frisk
Both New York billionaires overestimate the program's effectiveness and overlook its constitutional defects.
Michael Bloomberg Thinks Charlie Rose, Unlike Random Black Dudes, Deserves a 'Presumption of Innocence'
The former New York mayor defends his stop-and-frisk policy while suggesting the famous TV host did not get a fair hearing.
A School Counselor Says Customs Agents Searched Her Genitals Without Cause
Tameika Lovell says the search violated her Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
Baltimore Cop Quits After Pummeling a Man for Disrespecting His Authority
The Saturday incident immediately prompted an investigation because it was captured on bystander video.
Brett Kavanaugh's Fourth Amendment Blind Spot
The Supreme Court nominee's skepticism fades when cops and spies look for evidence without a warrant.
A Florida Man Arrested for Pot Is in Jail Until He Lets Deputies Search His Phones
Police say there's evidence. His lawyer says it's a fishing expedition.
School Strip-Searches 22 Sixth-Grade Girls Because a Cop Thought They Were Hiding $50 in Their Underwear
Despite the best efforts of a nurse who "loosened their bras" and "checked around the waistband of their panties," no money was found.
Another Justice Like Gorsuch, Please
Contrary to what his critics say, this "narrow-minded elitist" stands up for the little guy.
Neil Gorsuch Joins Sonia Sotomayor in Questioning the Third-Party Doctrine
In a case involving cellphone location data, Gorsuch says entrusting information to someone does not mean surrendering your Fourth Amendment rights.
Greyhound Should Just Say No to the Border Patrol's Bus Sweeps
The company has no legal obligation to let alien hunters harass its customers unless they have a warrant or probable cause.
Are Cop-Assisted Promposals Charming or Alarming?
Stopping drivers without a legal justification is unconstitutional, even in the name of young love.
Trooper Stops Driver Twice Within 3 Hours, Gropes Her for No Apparent Reason
The cop's boss says he did nothing wrong; the local D.A. disagrees.
What Forfeiture Reforms? New Hampshire Police Bypass State Law, Keep Taking People's Stuff
The Department of Justice's loophole lets officials seize property without having to get a conviction.
Trump's Critics Worry That He's Undermining Trust in the FBI, As If That's a Bad Thing
More Republican skepticism of law enforcement agencies is a welcome development.
Justifying Surveillance of Carter Page Would Have Been Pretty Easy
The FBI needed probable cause to believe he was an agent of a foreign power, a standard that is not hard to meet.
Suspicionless Immigration Bus Sweep Caught on Video
If you hear "papers, please" on a Greyhound, thank the Supreme Court.
Stop Warrantless Snooping on Americans
The NSA's surveillance of international communications is not limited to "foreign bad guys on foreign land."
Can the 'Automobile Exception' Run Over the Fourth Amendment?
Justices hear challenge to Virginia court's expansion of warrantless vehicle searches.
Warning: Don't Bring Your Legal Marijuana Through Internal Border Checkpoints in California
Recreational pot use becomes legal in the Golden State in 2018. The feds don't care.
Jury Rejects Damages for Victims of Pot Raid Based on Wet Tea Leaves
The jurors seem to have concluded that the bumbling drug warriors of Johnson County, Kansas, were incompetent rather than dishonest.
Court to Cops: Forcing a Teenager to Masturbate in Front of You Is Not Reasonable
A detective who was later charged with molesting children performed the humiliating search while investigating consensual sexting.
Musician Wins Return of $91,800 He Supposedly Gave Wyoming Cops
The quick resolution of Phil Parhamovich's case shows once again that standing up to money-grabbing bullies can pay off.
Cops Steal $91,800 From a Musician, Claiming He Gave It to Them
Wyoming's roadside waivers are a thin disguise for highway robbery.
Your Secrets Are Not Safe With Anyone
A cellphone tracking case gives SCOTUS a chance to reconsider a doctrine that threatens everyone's privacy.
