Closing a critical loophole cops use to enlist your car to help them snoop on your phone
Law enforcement is always looking for a way around that pesky Fourth Amendment, and its requirement that if cops want to conduct a search of your person or effects –…
No knock raids need to go
Criminal justice reformers have frequently criticized law enforcement’s use of “no-knock” search warrants. The reason is simple – they can lead to tragedy. That’s exactly what happened in Minneapolis, when…
Pennsylvania Fourth Amendment case takes on warrantless searches of private property
Government snooping is as old as the republic – and, absent a court-approved warrant – illegal. But that t prevent law enforcement from ignoring constitutional niceties when it thinks someone…
Government buying a shortcut around the Fourth Amendment
It’s no secret the federal government would prefer not to have to deal with that pesky Fourth Amendment, which requires the feds to get warrants before they can go poking…
Governments and law enforcement using online data to beef up surveillance
Law enforcement and government intelligence agencies are big fans of using private sector data to conduct their operations. When such practices have run into constitutional and political barriers, agencies say…
Michigan court to decide on Grand Rapids police fingerprinting people without probable cause
The Michigan Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of a Grand Rapids police fingerprinting initiative that civil liberties advocates say is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Mackinac Center…
Supreme Court puts limits on warrantless searches
The Supreme Court unanimously overturned a lower court ruling and struck a blow against warrantless police searches in the case Lange v. California. As Scotusblog’s Amy Howe writes: …Arthur Lange,…
Supreme Court Stands up for the Fourth Amendment and the Sanctity of the Home From Warrantless Seizures
The U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow for the Fourth Amendment and gun rights earlier this month, in a unanimous decision that said law enforcement needs to get a warrant…
A 4th Amendment Victory at the Border
Article from The Daily Caller by Jason Hopkins. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Border Patrol agents need “reasonable suspicion” before they can search international travelers’ electronic devices at airports…
Court Doesn’t Punish Prison Guard for Questionable Tactics
Article from Reason by Billy Binion. In 2011, 200 women serving sentences at the Lincoln Correctional Center in Lincoln, Illinois, woke one morning to a tactical team in riot gear, who rounded…