Search and Seizure

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

Civil Liberties

Intrusive National Security Letters Get Appeals Court Scrutiny

J.D. Tuccille | 10.8.2014 12:08 PM

Policy

Georgia Drug Warriors Raid Okra Grower, Looking for Marijuana

Jacob Sullum | 10.3.2014 4:13 PM

Policy

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

Jacob Sullum | 10.3.2014 2:14 PM

Policy

Vermont Cop Pulls Car Over for Nonexistent Traffic Violation, Tows It to Search for Evidence of Nonexistent Crime

Jacob Sullum | 9.30.2014 6:35 PM

Civil Liberties

Beware Canadian Border Guards Pawing Through Your Phone and Computer

J.D. Tuccille | 9.25.2014 9:54 AM

Politics

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

Jacob Sullum | 9.19.2014 5:56 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

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

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

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

Internet

All Your Emails Belong to U.S.

Federal judge rules Microsoft can be forced to hand over data it stores in Ireland.

Reason Staff | 7.31.2014 3:05 PM

Civil Liberties

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

J.D. Tuccille | 7.30.2014 3:04 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

Policy

Feds Take a Sudden Interest in Busting Home Distillers

Jacob Sullum | 7.15.2014 6:07 PM

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

Policy

Burned Babies and the Militarization of American Policing

Jacob Sullum | 6.24.2014 4:06 PM

Civil Liberties

US Marshals Seize FL Cops' Surveillance Records to Deny Them to ACLU

J.D. Tuccille | 6.4.2014 9:31 AM

Policy

How Cops Became Baby Burners

The horrifying collateral damage inflicted by the war on drugs

Jacob Sullum | 6.4.2014 7:00 AM

Policy

What It Takes for Cops to Break Into Your House, Kidnap You, and Steal Your Guns (Hint: It's Not a Warrant)

Jacob Sullum | 5.20.2014 6:49 PM

Police Abuse

Rapper Meek Mill Loses Lawsuit Over 10-Hour Traffic Stop in Philadelphia

Ed Krayewski | 5.2.2014 3:25 PM

Policy

SCOTUS Seems Inclined to Limit Police Access to Your Cellphone

Jacob Sullum | 4.29.2014 6:28 PM

Policy

Border Patrol Threatens Mother, Slashes Her Tire, as Kids Watch

J.D. Tuccille | 4.29.2014 5:37 PM

Civil Liberties

That Tracking Beacon You Call a Cell Phone At Issue in Florida Case

J.D. Tuccille | 4.25.2014 3:45 PM

Politics

John Paul Stevens, Leading Enabler of the War on Drugs, Says Pot Prohibition Was a Big Mistake

Jacob Sullum | 4.25.2014 1:34 PM

Civil Liberties

Border Patrol Harasses Local Protesters, Tells Them 'You Have No Rights Here'

J.D. Tuccille | 4.17.2014 3:26 PM

Policy

Mistaking Hibiscus for Marijuana, DEA Raids Gardener's Home

Jacob Sullum | 4.14.2014 12:26 PM

Policy

Why Bother With Drug-Sniffing Dogs If a Cop's Nose Can Authorize a Search?

Jacob Sullum | 3.31.2014 1:27 PM

Civil Liberties

If You Don't Want a SWAT Team at Your Door, You Shouldn't Be Drinking Tea

Jacob Sullum | 3.26.2014 2:31 PM

Civil Liberties

Edward Snowden and NSA Flack Duke it Out (Sort of) Over Spying in TED Talks

J.D. Tuccille | 3.25.2014 12:27 PM

Civil Liberties

Domestic Spying Requires a New Probe, Say Former Church Committee Members

J.D. Tuccille | 3.17.2014 2:39 PM

Civil Liberties

Thank You, Edward Snowden!

Ronald Bailey | 3.15.2014 12:00 PM

Civil Liberties

Edward Snowden: NSA Too Busy Spying on Americans To Catch Terrorists

J.D. Tuccille | 3.10.2014 11:37 AM

Civil Liberties

Verizon Reveals More About Federal Spying on Customers

In 2013, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ordered Verizon to surrender data for thousands of customers.

Josh Peterson | 3.4.2014 10:00 AM

Civil Liberties

Arizonans Want Abusive Border Patrol Checkpoint Removed From Their Town

J.D. Tuccille | 2.27.2014 2:20 PM

Zero Tolerance

Zero Tolerance Teaches Students Important Lessons About Authority: Don't Share Information, Don't Consent to Searches

Suspended for honest mistakes and good faith efforts

Ed Krayewski | 2.26.2014 12:35 PM

Civil Liberties

The 'Crime' of Having a Hidden Compartment in Your Car

In drug cases, hidden compartment laws give prosecutors one more charge to pile onto the same offense, and contain scant protections for law-abiding folk.

John Ross | 2.16.2014 12:00 PM

Civil Liberties

Texas Grand Jury Declines to Indict Pot Grower Who Shot and Killed a Cop During an Early-Morning Raid

Jacob Sullum | 2.7.2014 3:02 PM

Politics

Obama's Privacy Epiphany

Why it's hard to believe the president is serious about surveillance reform

Jacob Sullum | 1.22.2014 7:00 AM

Cellphones

Supreme Court To Decide If the Fourth Amendment Applies to Police Searches of Smart Phones

Ronald Bailey | 1.18.2014 10:31 AM

Policy

Obama Suddenly Realizes Mass Surveillance Threatens Privacy

Jacob Sullum | 1.17.2014 1:00 PM

Politics

Could Obama's Unlimited Faith in Himself Explain His Sudden Loss of Interest in Protecting Americans' Privacy?

Jacob Sullum | 1.16.2014 12:07 PM