Search warrants are usually issued ex parte, and there’s no Fourth Amendment justification for advance notice to the target of the search. It avoids warning the target to destroy or hide evidence or flee. United States v. Leeper, 2026 U.S. Continue reading
“In light of totality of the circumstances of this case, we thus ask whether Plaintiff has plausibly alleged that Defendant Josephs repeated refusal of Plaintiff s requests to use his own restroom rendered Plaintiff s seizure unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Though Continue reading
Not exactly following the inventory policy doesn’t make it unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Maldonadochavarria, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180956 (W.D. Mo. July 13, 2026). “Here, King was placed in handcuffs and moved from the Rite Shop Continue reading
Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging a complete cell phone download as overbroad before the search because no binding case says it is. Lenon v. State, 2026 Ga. LEXIS 250 (Aug. 13, 2026). The question is not whether plaintiff Continue reading
DNYUZ: CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues: Internal records obtained by WIRED reveal how, for years, United States Customs and Border Protection employees and contractors were accused of abusing sensitive government databases for Continue reading
ABAJ: Is resetting your phone after being stopped by Border Patrol agents a federal offense? By Anna Stolley Persky: It all started when Sam Tunick, described as a 30-year-old barista and musician with concerns about the environment and police militarization, Continue reading
NYT: Flock Announces Privacy Updates to Its Car-Tracking Cameras by Aruni Soni (“Critics say the measures are “public relations” and leave room for continued misuse.”): Flock Safety, a company facing increasing scrutiny of its nationwide car-tracking technology, announced several updates Continue reading
One of the Project Veritas search warrant affidavits is partially redacted for privacy of some people and ordered filed. Redactions must be limited. In re Search Warrant Dated Nov. 5, 2021, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179075 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 11, 2026): Continue reading
This search warrant for a firearm wasn’t stale because firearms are kept. In any event, the good faith exception applies. United States v. Cherry, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178900 (D. Ariz. Aug. 11, 2026).* Defendant’s failure to file a post-trial Continue reading
Reverse keyword search warrant to Google connected defendant to this crime. It’s not like geofence warrants in Chatrie, but the merits aren t decided because the good faith exception applies in any event. Clements v. Commonwealth, 2026 Va. App. LEXIS 428 Continue reading
The first dog sniff didn’t provide probable cause, but it did provide reasonable suspicion to continue the stop longer. Then a second sniff didn’t either. Motion to suppress granted. United States v. Copeland, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178749 (N.D. Ohio Continue reading
Georgia reaffirms there is a constitutional right of privacy in medical records. Here it was a civil discovery dispute. Goodell v. Moulton, 2026 Ga. LEXIS 232 (Aug. 11, 2026): Finally, we also extended the Georgia constitutional right to privacy to Continue reading
The stop was not extended by the drug dog that arrived almost immediately and the sniff was done while the records check was going on. Alternatively, there was reasonable suspicion for it. United States v. Billips, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS Continue reading
Seizure of defendant’s Apple watch was valid incident to arrest because officers feared he could erase his iPhone with it. The traffic stop might have been pretextual, but it doesn’t matter because defendant had an arrest warrant on a federal Continue reading
Truthout: First Came the Flock Cameras. Now Local Cops Want Autonomous Drones. by Michael Ludwig ( Hundreds of local police departments have received waivers to fly surveillance drones that navigate with AI. ): Police in cities across the U.S. are rolling out Continue reading
NYT: The Surveillance Network Tracking Cars Across the U.S. (there are now 120,000 cameras).
“Defendant was detained from approximately 4:45 a.m. until his release at around 7:00 a.m., a total duration of two hours and 15 minutes. … Having concluded that the initial detention was lawful, the Court must next address whether the detention Continue reading