Coronavirus
Disease Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment
Alan Z. Rozenshtein Tue, Apr 7, 2020, 1:54 PM
With the right safeguards, aggressive disease surveillance is likely permissible under the Fourth Amendment.
Latest in Fourth Amendment
Fourth Amendment
Is ICE’s Use of a Maryland Facial Recognition Database Lawful?
Nathaniel Sobel Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 8:00 AM
The Washington Post reported recently that ICE has accessed a Maryland facial recognition database, which includes photographs of undocumented immigrants who obtained special driver’s licenses.
Fourth Amendment
Do Geofence Warrants Violate the Fourth Amendment?
Nathaniel Sobel Mon, Feb 24, 2020, 1:03 PM
In a federal prosecution for armed bank robbery, a defendant challenges a geofence warrant.
FISA: 702 Collection
The Second Circuit Rules in United States v. Hasbajrami
Jacques Singer-Emery Tue, Jan 7, 2020, 8:00 AM
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that incidental collection of U.S. persons’ communications under Section 702 does not violate the Fourth Amendment, but raised constitutional questions related to querying databases containing these communications.
Encryption
The Massachusetts High Court Rules That State Can Compel Password Decryption in Commonwealth v. Jones
Nathaniel Sobel Wed, Apr 24, 2019, 8:26 AM
In Commonwealth v. Jones, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held, for the second time in five years, that the government may compel a defendant to unlock an electronic device under certain circumstances.
Fourth Amendment
Fourth Amendment Reasonableness After Carpenter v. United States
Alan Z. Rozenshtein Thu, Dec 27, 2018, 9:00 AM
In Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment applies when the government acquires large amounts of cell-phone location data.
U.S. Supreme Court
Four Months Later, How Are Courts Interpreting Carpenter?
Nathaniel Sobel Thu, Oct 18, 2018, 8:57 AM
Last June in a 5-4 ruling in Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court extended Fourth Amendment protections to an individual’s cell phone location data for the first time.
Fourth Amendment
Opening a File Whose Hash Matched Known Child Pornography Is Not a ‘Search,’ Fifth Circuit Rules
Orin Kerr Sat, Aug 18, 2018, 10:09 AM
The Fifth Circuit has handed down a fascinating computer search case in United States v. Reddick. Here's the question: If a private company runs a hash of a file and compares the hash to those of known images of child pornography, and it finds a match to a known image and forwards on the file to the government, is it a “search” for the government to then open the file to confirm it is child pornography?
Fourth Amendment
Public Utility's Recording of Home Energy Consumption Every 15 Minutes Is a 'Search,' Seventh Circuit Rules
Orin Kerr Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 12:29 PM
In a fascinating decision, Naperville Smart Meter Awareness v. City of Naperville, the Seventh Circuit has held that a public utility commits a "search" of a home when it records every 15 minutes how much electricity the utility is providing the home, at least until the smart readers that enable this data collection come into general public use.
U.S. Supreme Court
Carpenter and the End of Bulk Surveillance of Americans
Sharon Bradford Franklin Wed, Jul 25, 2018, 11:36 AM
Writing for the majority in Carpenter v. United States, Chief Justice John Roberts called the court’s momentous Fourth Amendment decision “a narrow one.” The specific holding—that a warrant is required for law enforcement to access historical cell site location information (CSLI)—may indeed be narrow, and the decision rightfully cautions that “the Court must tread carefully” when considering new technologies.