Monthly Archives: February 2024

NY Times: When Eyes in the Sky Start Looking Right at You

NY Times: When Eyes in the Sky Start Looking Right at You by William J. Broad (“New satellites that orbit the Earth at very low altitudes may result in a world where nothing is really off limits.”). Where does the … Continue reading

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E.D.Ky.: Motion for new trial here not ground for illegal search claim

This motion for new trial is not for defendant’s claim that officers hacked his computer to illegally search it. It’s not newly discovered. Moreover, there were questions of the FBI computer analyst about whether the computer had been hacked. United … Continue reading

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fourthamendment.com is 21 today

February 24, 2003.

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E.D.Wis.: Under Payton, revo warrant justified USM entry into place where def was staying

The US Marshals had an arrest warrant for defendant on an FTA for a revocation hearing. Theydeveloped probable cause through searching Facebook posts that defendant was likely staying at the home of another. Their entry was lawful under Payton and … Continue reading

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OH1: Trial court erred in not suppressing when officer couldn’t remember the basis of stop

Defendant satisfied his burden of pleading by stating the stop was without justification. At the hearing on the motion to suppress this OVI case, the officer couldn’t remember why defendant was stopped. The trial court erred in not suppressing. State … Continue reading

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Keyboard search warrants and the Fourth Amendment

Commentary, Keyboard search warrants and the Fourth Amendment by John Villasenor, The Brookings Institute (Feb. 22, 2024):

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Kerr: “Terms of Service have little or no effect on Fourth Amendment rights.”

Orin Kerr, Terms of Service and Fourth Amendment Rights, 172 U. Pa. L. Rev. 287 (2024):

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OH4: Officer saying he had PC to search when he didn’t made search without consent

“We find that the detective did have reasonable suspicion to make an investigative stop of Stephenson’s vehicle based on the information provided by an informant. However, the detective lacked probable cause to search the vehicle and the purported ‘consent’ that … Continue reading

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WV: Police looking at the exterior of defendant’s car was not a search and violated no REP

Police looking at the exterior of defendant’s car was not a search and violated no reasonable expectation of privacy. State v. Estep, 2024 W. Va. LEXIS 92 (Feb. 20, 2024).* The trial court granted a Franks motion, but the state … Continue reading

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W.D.Mo.: Unless SW overseizure is in bad faith or with reckless disregard, the entire search doesn’t fail, just the overseizure (but not always)

An overseizure during execution of a search warrant does not lead to suppression of that which was lawfully seized. If anything, just the stuff that was overseized. Here, there was obviously a huge amount of paper seized, and it was … Continue reading

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CA10: AOL scanned emails for CP, found some, and forwarded to NCMEC; what NCMEC did did not matter and that’s inevitable discovery

“We conclude that the inevitable discovery exception to exclusion applies, and therefore we need not address whether NCMEC violated the Fourth Amendment by opening Tolbert’s emails and attachments or whether the good faith exception to exclusion would apply. The evidence … Continue reading

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TX5: No binding authority says there’s a REP in an inmate’s jail medical records

There is no binding authority that a jail inmate has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his jail medical records, so the court finds the exclusionary rule shouldn’t apply. Quaschnick v. State, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 1108 (Tex. App. – … Continue reading

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KY: Misstatements of law not subject to Franks challenge

A misstatement of law is not subject to a Franks challenge. Search warrant affidavits are usually drafted in a hurry by nonlawyers, and it’s up to the issuing magistrate to decide whether there is a substantial basis for believing a … Continue reading

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MI: Cell phone SW completely fails particularity; no GFE

This cell phone search warrant completely failed the particularity requirement, and the good faith exception did not apply. Cell phone searches are intrusive, and warrants must be particular. People v. Carson, 2024 Mich. App. LEXIS 1235 (Feb. 15, 2024):

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CA4: Broad social media SWs in sex trafficking case explained

This is a MS-13 sex trafficking appeal. Facebook warrants were issued for communications that were sent via private message. There was a substantial basis for the issuance of the warrants: “The warrant affidavits in this case were well-sourced. They incorporated … Continue reading

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E.D.N.C.: Shed on curtilage shown on Google satellite image attached to affidavit was properly searched although not specified in SW

A shed by the house was properly searched under a warrant for the house. “As a general rule, a supporting affidavit or document may be read together with (and considered a part of) a warrant that otherwise lacks sufficient particularity … Continue reading

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CA7: Rodriguez time argument waived by failure to specifically plead it below

“At the outset, we note that Johnson did not challenge the length or validity of the dog sniff in the district court. The record therefore does not contain information crucial to the Rodriguez inquiry, such as whether Deputy Haber acted … Continue reading

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NY Queens: Even a stop for an apparent trivial traffic offense requires full constitutional analysis

When the police make what appears to be a trivial traffic stop, the court still has to make a proper analysis lest the court become a rubber stamp for the police. People v. Davis, 2024 NY Slip Op 24041, 2024 … Continue reading

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CA5: Facts of this alleged Rodriguez violation get QI

Plaintiff was stopped on I-40 and then he later sued complaining the stop was continued too long. On the facts he presents, it was not clearly established that the continuation of this stop was unreasonable. Weisshaus v. Teichelman, 2024 U.S. … Continue reading

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DE: Def can’t show vindictive prosecution to get names of those who allegedly provided false information to police for SW of public records

In a case involving a public official accused of misappropriating funds, there was a search warrant for office records. She claimed she was entitled to the names of those who might have provided false information to investigators for the warrant … Continue reading

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