Fourth Amendment

Federal appeals court considers whether driver has right to livestream traffic stop on Facebook

A federal appeals court is considering whether a Black man who says he broadcasts his interactions with police for his protection had the right to livestream a traffic stop on Facebook.

Dec 6, 2022 9:26 AM CST

2 Trump appointees battle as 9th Circuit upholds chalking tires; dissent accused of analysis by ‘hyperbole’

Two judges appointed by former President Donald Trump sparred Wednesday on whether a city violates the Fourth Amendment by chalking tires without a warrant to enforce parking time limits.

Oct 27, 2022 1:05 PM CDT

Claiming to have 4.3 trillion readers, the Onion supports parodist and its writers’ paychecks in SCOTUS brief

Updated: The satirical website the Onion deems itself to be “the single most powerful and influential organization in human history” in an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of an Ohio man who was prosecuted for creating a parody Facebook page for the local police department.

Oct 4, 2022 12:03 PM CDT

Court can’t compel examination of juror’s electronic devices to look for misconduct, 6th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has ruled that a district court has no power to order an examination of a juror’s electronic devices to determine whether an outside influence affected the verdict.

Sep 27, 2022 1:09 PM CDT

Strip search by transgender guard violated inmate’s religious rights, 7th Circuit says

A federal appeals court ruled Friday for a Muslim inmate in Wisconsin who claimed that his religious rights were violated by strip searches conducted by a transgender prison guard.

Sep 21, 2022 3:42 PM CDT

Suit filed on behalf of migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard alleges these constitutional, legal violations

A class action lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of at least 50 asylum-seekers alleges that their flight from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts violated constitutional protections, federal statutes and tort law.

Sep 21, 2022 10:22 AM CDT

Unclean hands and executive-privilege scope debated after judge requires special master in Trump case

Updated: Legal experts are expressing surprise about two aspects of U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s decision to appoint a special master to review documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.

Sep 6, 2022 12:35 PM CDT

Trump search-warrant affidavit, released on judge’s orders, cites sensitive documents, possible obstruction

Updated: Federal agents sought to search former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, after he turned over 15 boxes of documents in January that included “highly classified documents intermingled with other records,” according to a redacted affidavit released Friday based on a judge’s orders.

Aug 26, 2022 12:35 PM CDT

University that scanned student’s room during remote test violated Fourth Amendment, judge rules

Cleveland State University violated the Fourth Amendment when its proctor ordered a scan of a student’s bedroom during a remote chemistry exam, a federal judge has ruled.

Aug 25, 2022 2:05 PM CDT

Trump requests special master for review of documents seized by FBI

Former President Donald Trump has asked a federal court to temporarily prevent the FBI from reviewing items it seized from his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, until a special master can be appointed in the case.

Aug 23, 2022 9:43 AM CDT

WikiLeaks founder’s lawyers allege CIA authorized spying on their visits

Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are suing the CIA and former CIA director Mike Pompeo for allegedly recording their conversations and copying data from their electronic devices.

Aug 16, 2022 11:19 AM CDT

Chalking tires is unconstitutional, federal judge rules, but plaintiffs won’t get traffic-ticket refunds as damages

The practice of chalking tires to track how long cars are parked in the city of Saginaw, Michigan, is an unconstitutional search under the Fourth Amendment, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Aug 10, 2022 3:09 PM CDT

Federal judge tosses lawyer’s suit over cellphone border search

A federal judge in Texas has ruled against an immigration lawyer who contended that the government violated his constitutional rights when it seized his cellphone at the border.

Aug 9, 2022 12:19 PM CDT

After collaborating with bestselling author, judge discusses new solo book

After several collaborations with bestselling author James Patterson, Judge David Ellis of Illinois, a prolific novelist, decided to go it alone for his latest book, Look Closer.

Jul 27, 2022 8:41 AM CDT

The modern US Border Patrol is a national police force with dangerous capabilities, author warns

In Nobody is Protected: How the Border Patrol Became the Most Dangerous Police Force in the United States, geographer Reece Jones argues that Supreme Court precedent, a growing workforce and mission creep have made the U.S. Border Patrol a national police force that operates without appropriate accountability.

Jul 13, 2022 9:00 AM CDT