CA11: Attorney has no standing in legal mail searched in a prison cell

An attorney of an inmate has no Fourth Amendment right in his client’s prison cell for the opening of prisoner mail during a cell security search. Williams v. Russo, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 1063 (11th Cir. Jan. 22, 2016).

Appellate courts have to apply de novo review to the historical facts to determine whether the Fourth Amendment was complied with. The decisions of the Alaska Supreme Court, that suggest otherwise that the trial courts fact findings also bind the Fourth Amendment determination, too, actually do this, and that’s what this court is doing. Meyer v. State, 2016 Alas. App. LEXIS 12 (Jan. 22, 2016).