Fourth Amendment

Does the War on Drugs Affect Your Privacy Rights?

Jane Yakowitz Bambauer | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Fourth Amendement Rights, Drug-Sniffing Dogs, Privacy Violation, Invastion of Priacy, Fourth Amendment, Police Dogs, Police Dogs Drugs, War on Drugs, Florida-v-Jardines, Crime News

Do the police need a warrant to bring a drug-sniffing dog to your front door? The U.S. Supreme Court will soon answer that question.

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Filmmaker Files Lawsuit Over 'Trekkie Traffic Stop'

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 05.08.2012

Read More: Search and Seizure, Video, Collinsville Illinois, Drug War, Police, Terrance Huff, Police Misconduct, Terrance Huff Michael Reichert, Michael Reichert, Asset Forfeiture, Illinois, War on Drugs, Terrance Huff Lawsuit, Fourth Amendment, Star Trek, Politics News

Filmmaker Terrance Huff has filed a lawsuit against the city of Collinsville, Illinois, and Collinsville police officer Michael Reichert over a traffi...

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The Empire Strikes Back: Attack of the Drones

John W. Whitehead | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Federal Aviation Administration, Fourth Amendment, General Atomics, Drones, Privacy, Shadowhawk, Technology News

We will find ourselves operating under a new paradigm marked by round-the-clock surveillance and with little hope of real privacy, short of living in a cave far removed from the reach of modern technology. Caves, by the way, are rather scarce.

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Stripping and Searching

Christopher Brauchli | Posted 04.26.2012

Read More: Public Schools, Albert Florence, Supreme Court Strip Search, Savana Redding, Fourth Amendment, Politics News

Things are not nearly as bleak as commentators would have had us believe after the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in the recent case of Florence v. County of Burlington.

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Granny Defends Her Rights

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 04.19.2012

Read More: Police Brutality, Baltimore, Fourth Amendment, Venus Green, Police Misconduct, Politics News

In one of the more unusual police brutality lawsuits in recent years, 90-year-old Baltimore resident Venus Green was awarded a $95,000 settlement earl...

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Supreme Court "Strips" Fourth Amendment Protections

John M. Burns | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: Supreme Court, Strip Searches, Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, Strip Search, Fourth Amendment, Politics News

Let's put this into perspective: If you are arrested for even a traffic violation, the Supreme Court has now given law enforcement officials the green light to strip you down and search even your body cavities, regardless of whether or not they believe you possess any dangerous or banned substance.

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Strip Search Nation (Including The Authoritarian Catechism)

David Bromwich | Posted 04.15.2012

Read More: Strip Searches, Patriot Act, Criminal Justice, Fourth Amendment Right, Strip Search, Fourth Amendment, Strip Search Supreme Court, Supreme Court Strip Search, Politics News

The recent Supreme Court decision in Florence v. County of Burlington, supported by the Obama administration, makes a large example of the way an expansionist foreign policy based on coercion and violence has returned on us and come to haunt Americans.

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Operation Shamrock and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Renee Parsons | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Fisa, Warrantless Surveillance, Aclu, Fourth Amendment, Operatioon Shamrock, Glenn Greenwald, Politics News

For all of its good intentions in 1978, FISA has since been thrust into dangerous, uncharted territory, morphing into a vehicle of unintended consequences.

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Warrant Requirement Past Due for Cell Phone Tracking

Leslie Harris | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Surveillance, Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Cell Phone Tracking, Cell Phones, Fourth Amendment, Ecpa Reform, Ecpa, Police Surveillance, Technology, Technology News

The ACLU notes that nearly all of the more than 200 police departments in their report said that they track cell phones; however, only a fraction of those departments get a warrant from a judge.

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Supreme Court OKs Suspicionless Strip Searches For New Jail Inmates

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Supreme Court, Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, Video, Anthony Kennedy Strip Search, Scotus, Supreme Court Strip Search, United States Supreme Court, Thomas Goldstein, Strip Searches, Strip Search, Anthony Kennedy, Fourth Amendment, U.S. Supreme Court, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday decided that jails may perform suspicionless strip searches on new inmates regardless of the gravity of thei...

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Can Drug Dogs Be Trusted?

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 03.31.2012

Read More: Search, Drug War, Illinois, Police Search, Drug Dogs, K-9, Drug Search, Fourth Amendment, Politics News

In the course of reporting on the traffic stop of Terrance Huff, HuffPost was able to obtain the reports of an Illinois State Police K-9 unit over an ...

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Traffic Stop Of Star Trek Fans Raises Concerns About Drug Searches

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 03.31.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Video, Drug War, Police, Terrance Huff, Asset Forfeiture, Police Search, Illinois, Drug Dogs, Fourth Amendment, Drug Search, Collinsville, Civil Rights, Star Trek, Politics News

Last December, filmmaker Terrance Huff and his friend Jon Seaton were returning to Ohio after attending a "Star Trek" convention in St. Louis. As they...

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There Is Nothing Constitutional About State-Mandated Transvaginal Ultrasounds

John W. Whitehead | Posted 04.25.2012

Read More: Virginia, Abortion, Transvaginal Ultrasound, Contraception, Fourth Amendment, Roe v. Wade, Transvaginal Ultrasounds, Virginia Personhood Bill, Abortion Ultrasounds, Politics News

Requiring doctors to carry out invasive probes on woman without their consent reduces doctors to agents of the state, violating the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against searches by the government.

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Google's New Privacy Policy: Close But No Cigar

Adam Levin | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Google, Samuel Alito, Google Privacy, Fourth Amendment, United-States-v-Jones, Sonia Sotomayer, United States v Jones, Google Privacy Policy, Technology News

Google's new policy is exemplary in its brevity, comprehensibility, and candor. If you disagree, try reading one from a bank or a wireless carrier (emphasis on the word "try").

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U.S. v. Jones: The Battle for the Fourth Amendment Continues

John W. Whitehead | Posted 03.25.2012

Read More: Iris Scanners, Facial Recognition, US v Jones, Surveillance, Smart Dust, Fourth Amendment, Drones, Antoine Jones, RFID Chips, Crime News

As Justice Samuel Alito recognizes in his concurring judgment, physical intrusion is now unnecessary to many forms of invasive surveillance.

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U.S. v. Jones: Fourth Amendment Privacy Certainly Not "Dead," But How Do We Deal With It?

Christina Gagnier | Posted 03.25.2012

Read More: Government, Illegal Search and Seizure, Supreme Court, Gps, Fourth Amendment, Technology, Privacy, United States v Jones, US vs Jones, Technology News

Privacy and its treatment in the civil context, particularly what society's view of the "reasonable expectation of privacy" is, will most certainly be shaped by society's use of technology and how it interacts with platforms like Facebook or Google.

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Franky The Drug-Sniffing Dog Heads To Supreme Court

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 01.06.2012

Read More: Supreme Court, Florida v. Jardines, US Supreme Court, Video, Marijuana, Crime, Antonin Scalia, Franky the Dog, Florida, Pot, Fourth Amendment, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case challenging the constitutionality of a police dog's warrantless sniff outside a suspec...

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Occupy DC Files For Permanent Injunction To Protect Tent Camp

The Huffington Post | Arin Greenwood | Posted 01.04.2012

Read More: Fifth Amendment, First Amendment, Video, District of Columbia, Thievery Corporation, Lawsuits, National Park Service, Protests, McPherson Square, Occupy Dc, Fourth Amendment, Jeffrey Light, DC News

WASHINGTON -- Occupy DC has filed for an injunction that would permanently bar the government from dismantling the tent city in McPherson Square, wher...

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Justices Weigh Guns, Gangs And Broad Search Warrants

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 12.05.2011

Read More: Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts, Video, Messerschmidt-v-Millender, Antonin Scalia, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, United States Supreme Court, Samuel Alito, Crips, Search Warrant, Fourth Amendment, Gangs, Guns, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court grappled with guns, gangs and a detective's good faith in executing a search warrant at oral argument Monday morning. ...

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UC Berkeley Students To File Lawsuit Against University, Police

Turnstyle | Posted 01.22.2012

Read More: Ows, Occupy Cal, Turnstyle News, Occupy Wall Sctreet, Police, UC Berkeley, First Amendment, #Oo, Chancellor, Fourth Amendment, Uc Berkeley Police, Occupy Oakland, #Ows, Bamn, College News

By: Denise Tejada Photo Credit: DENISE TEJADA/Turnstyle News Protester Addresses Students Gathered In Front Of Sproul Hall. On Wednesday, 20 stude...

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Congress Should Resolve Location Tracking Questions

Sen. Ron Wyden | Posted 01.08.2012

Read More: Illegal Search and Seizure, Supreme Court, Politics, Law Enforcement, Congress, Gps, Fourth Amendment, Privacy, United-States-v-Jones, Politics News

Today, the Supreme Court was asked to tackle an important question: does the government need a warrant to use an electronic tracking device to secretly monitor your movements, 24 hours a day?

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Justices Consider The Limits Of Privacy On Public Sidewalks

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 01.08.2012

Read More: Illegal Search and Seizure, Supreme Court, Dc, Chief Justice John Roberts, Video, Antonin Scalia, Sonia Sotomayor, United States Supreme Court, GPS Tracking, Samuel Alito, Gps, Fourth Amendment, United-States-v-Jones, Antoine Jones, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court Gps, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- The justices appear poised to go big or go home when it comes to protecting privacy rights against digital intrusion. Antoine Jones, ...

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"Big Brother" is Really Watching You -- GPS Surveillance in the Supreme Court

Bennett L. Gershman | Posted 01.07.2012

Read More: Gps Surveillance, Warrantless Surveillance, Criminal Justice, Gps, Search Warrant, Fourth Amendment, Gps Monitoring, US vs. Jones, Crime News

In United States v. Jones, the Supreme Court will decide whether the secret installation by police of a GPS device to the defendant's vehicle and monitoring his movements every day for four weeks is a "search" that requires a warrant.

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United States v. Jones: D.C. GPS Case To Test Fourth Amendment Rights

The Huffington Post | Arin Greenwood | Posted 01.07.2012

Read More: Law, Dc, Cato Institute, Video, Scotus, DC News, Gps, Fourth Amendment, D.C., Privacy, United-States-v-Jones, U.S. Supreme Court, DC News

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear arguments in a District of Columbia case involving police use of a global positioning system...

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Justice Kennedy May Swing Case On Strip Searches

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 12.12.2011

Read More: Supreme Court, Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, Video, Scotus, Sonia Sotomayor, Antonin Scalia, Carter Phillips, United States Supreme Court, Strip Searches, Thomas Goldstein, Fourth Amendment, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- There was so much talk of anal cavities at the Supreme Court Wednesday morning that Justice Antonin Scalia asked, "You want us to write ...

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