Category Archives: Search

W.D.Okla.: Military vaccine mandate applies to National Guard and it is not a search or seizure

The Covid vaccination mandate for the military does not exempt the National Guard. Oklahoma v. Biden, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 246534 (W.D.Okla. Dec. 28, 2021). As to the Fourth Amendment claim:

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CA10: Buses and trains in ABQ

A DEA officer’s lifting but not manipulating defendant’s duffle bag on a Greyhound bus that stopped in Albuquerque for passengers and service was not timely raised by the defense. But it was not a search. “It is not unusual on … Continue reading

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D.Ariz.: Covid-19 testing is (essentially) so minimal it is not a 4A intrusion

“Nasal swab testing for COVID-19 does not create an intrusion under the skin, does not involve any genetic testing, and there is no use of the sample for law enforcement purposes. Accordingly, the Court finds that Gold is unlikely to … Continue reading

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D.Minn.: Merely unlocking cell phone without looking in it is not a search

“[U]sing a passcode to unlock Defendant’s cellphone without exploring the contents of the phone does not constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment.” United States v. Jackson, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 202192 (D.Minn. Oct. 20, 2021). The protective sweep was … Continue reading

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IN: Privilege against self-incrimination is not self-executing as to cell phone password disclosure

Defendant’s mid-trial motion to suppress a cell phone search was waived: It was not timely, and defendant consented to giving the passcode and gave consent to search it. The privilege against self-incrimination is not self-executing here. Kerner v. State, 2021 … Continue reading

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NY: Failure to swear to facts of standing dooms motion to suppress

Failing to swear to facts supporting standing is fatal to a Fourth Amendment claim in New York. People v. Ibarguen, 2021 NY Slip Op 05617, 2021 N.Y. LEXIS 2207 (Oct. 14, 2021) (Wilson dissents again (see today’s prior post of … Continue reading

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ID: Drug dog’s nose through a car window before alerting is a search and a Jones trespass

A drug dog’s nose through a car window before alerting is a search and a Jones trespass. De minimis, yet, but still a trespass. There was no probable cause for the automobile exception, and the state waived standing by not … Continue reading

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WA: Request for proof of payment of a bus fare is not a search

Request for proof of payment of a public transportation fare is not a seizure under the Fourth Amendment or the state constitution. Defendant consented to the terms of ridership by boarding the bus, which included paying the fare and having … Continue reading

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N.D.Cal.: “Hot watch” order for real time travel information isn’t disclosable yet; matter still under investigation

The government made an “Application request[ing] an order compelling Sabre, a travel technology firm, ‘to provide representatives of the FBI complete and contemporaneous ‘real time’ account activity’ for an individual subject to an arrest warrant—what the government refers to as … Continue reading

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CA4 (en banc 8-7): Baltimore’s aerial surveillance program is a “search” under Carpenter

The Baltimore Police Department’s aerial surveillance program is a search under Carpenter because of the detail it provides and the viewers of the information can go back in time. Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle v. Baltimore Police Department, 2021 U.S. … Continue reading

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S.D.Ohio: Social workers must comply with 4A

Social workers must comply with the Fourth Amendment, and they can plead exceptions. Scharbrough v. South Central Ohio Job & Family Servs., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105993 (S.D. Ohio June 7, 2021)*:

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CA6: Detention with handcuffing on RS permitted putting def in police car

There was reasonable suspicion for defendant’s detention, including putting him in a police car while they sorted it out. That was not yet an arrest. United States v. Rogers, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 16160 (6th Cir. May 27, 2021). The … Continue reading

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CA7: Pre-Carpenter real time CSLI tracking def on streets to locate him before he committed another robbery was not unreasonable

The fact officers had probable cause to arrest is considered in determining good faith. In addition, “To conclude, we hold that Detective Ghiringhelli did not conduct a Fourth Amendment ‘search’ by requesting the real-time CSLI of a suspect for multiple … Continue reading

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NC: State has burden of proof BRD on 4A harmless error

The state carries the burden of proving harmless error for a Fourth Amendment beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Scott, 2021-NCSC-41, 2021 N.C. LEXIS 321 (Apr. 16, 2021). The evidence supports that the person consenting had apparent and actual authority … Continue reading

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W.D.Wash.: Test-firing a firearm to help identify it is a reasonable search

“The Court concludes the test-firing of the weapon was a search. It was test-fired for one sole purpose and that was to gain identifying data on the retained shell casing for subsequent submission to a database of shell casings obtained … Continue reading

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E.D.N.C.: Officer’s reach into car was search, but justified by automobile exception

The reach into defendant’s car was a search, but it was justified by the automobile exception. United States v. Joyner, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68324 (E.D. N.C. Mar. 15, 2021). Defendant’s stop wasn’t unreasonably extended. “Although Officer Hambrock walked back … Continue reading

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D.D.C.: Requirement of a medical exam to determine if a firefighter can return to duty isn’t 4A violation

“McCrea claims that Defendants violated her Fourth Amendment right to privacy by ordering her to undergo psychological assessments that went beyond the essential functions of her job as a firefighter. … The Fourth Amendment protects an individual’s ‘reasonable expectation of … Continue reading

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CA6: No interstate commerce nexus needed for a federal search and seizure

There is no interstate commerce predicate to a federal search and seizure. Defendant cites no authority and the court doesn’t find one. United States v. Watson, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 8564 n.3 (6th Cir. Mar. 22, 2021). Remanded a second … Continue reading

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D.P.R.: Getting out of car and running away from it on seeing the police is abandonment

Defendant didn’t file a declaration under penalty of perjury contesting the facts alleged in his criminal complaint. He also fails to show even a subjective reasonable expectation of privacy in the place searched to give him standing. He abandoned his … Continue reading

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DE: “Surveilling” def by following him looking for discarded DNA wasn’t an unreasonable search or seizure

Defendant lived in Pennsylvania and was accused of unlawful sex in Delaware. A search warrant was obtained in Pennsylvania for his house, and there was probable cause for it and it was narrow and specific. His DNA had been obtained … Continue reading

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