Time: Drones of the Future Will Make Own Decisions by Eliana Dockterman:

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WaPo: NSA seeks to build quantum computer that could crack most types of encryption by Steven Rich and Barton Gellman:

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NYT: Without Jury, Judge Warned That Stop-and-Frisk Ruling Would Be Disputed by Benjamin Weiser and Joseph Goldstein:

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An indictment isn’t invalid because it’s based on an alleged illegal search. Sell v. United States, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182056 (D. Md. December 31, 2013) (§ 2255 case):

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“The factor that pushes a detention over the line to an arrest is one of time and duration, not the use of force or handcuffs.” United States v. Smith, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181394 (E.D. Va. December 30, 2013)*:

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NLJ: Disabled Passenger Takes Airport Pat-Downs to First Circuit by Sheri Qualters:

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Suspicionless border searches of laptop computers and other electronic devices are reasonable, following other courts. As to the named plaintiff, there was reasonable suspicion. Also, plaintiffs also don’t have standing against future searches. Abidor v. Napolitano, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181891 (E.D. N.Y. December 31, 2013):

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Volokh: A First Look at Navarette v. California: Are Stops Governed by the Rules of Terry or By Case-by-Case Reasonableness? by Orin Kerr:

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During a search for a defendant in his house under an arrest warrant, it is permissible for the police (here U.S. Marshals) to search between the mattress and box springs because people commonly hide there. It was protocol to search there. United States v. Carter, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181001 (D. Kan. December 30, 2013).

The seizure of the premises here was valid under Segura, so defense counsel was not ineffective for conceding the validity of the search. United States v. Owden, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181208 (N.D. Fla. November 22, 2013).*

Defendant’s consent was free and voluntary, although given while his DL and other papers were in the police car and he was talking to the police on the street. United States v. Raileanu, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181082 (D. Nev. September 4, 2013).*

City employee alleged a Fourth Amendment violation by being ordered to take a drug test on personal animosity. Hudson v. City of Riviera Beach, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 161799 (S.D. Fla. November 13, 2013):

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Defense counsel was not ineffective for not filing a motion to suppress the warrantless seizure of defendant’s laptop for child pornography and then waiting 78 days to get a search warrant for it. Under the circumstances, the 78 day delay was reasonable. United States v. Brown, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180987 (W.D. Va. December 30, 2013):

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USFinancePost: Man arrested for having empty compartment in car by Jack Minor:

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NYT: Text of Bill de Blasio’s Inauguration Speech:

We will reform a broken stop-and-frisk policy, both to protect the dignity and rights of young men of color, and to give our brave police officers the partnership they need to continue their success in driving down crime. We won’t wait. We’ll do it now.

Will he direct his corporation counsel to dismiss the appeal in the Second Circuit? Now soon is “now”? Settle and revise the decree?

Only a handful (11) of the 94 U.S. District Courts have opinion pages. They are: N.D.Ala., D.D.C., M.D.Ga., D.Kan., D.Me., D.Md., D.Mass., E.D.Mich., M.D.N.C., E.D.Pa., and D.R.I. These links were added this morning to the state opinions page.

If you’ve been to FDsys, it’s TMI and unwieldy, in my view.

(1) ABAJ: 10 police raids gone wrong (gallery)

(2) In the get a life department: When I signed on Christmas morning, about 7 am CT, I noted there were 363 people on this website, which is about the highest that I’ve noticed at any one time. [Note: The “Views” shown on the page are thus meaningless, and I have no idea how they are counted: e.g., the “views” of the most recent article were only about 50 at the time.] I reported that to my wife, sitting across the table from me in our home office, her also on her computer, and she said “Don’t they have a life? Families?” “Well, it’s just the two of us here, and this is my job, every morning for the last 11 years. Not everybody has kids [anymore] to play with. If I didn’t do this everyday, I’d soon be incapable of catching back up.”

Defendant fled from the car when it was stopped. Its inventory was valid. While the officer couldn’t testify to all the main purposes of an inventory, he got “documenting evidence” right [which to me means nothing], the inventory was in good faith and not solely for investigation, so it’s valid. United States v. Detloff, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181030 (E.D. Mich. December 30, 2013):

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Plea agreement waived any IAC claim, including defense counsel’s failure to file a suppression motion. United States v. Bowen, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103564 (D. Ariz. May 15, 2013).*

Officers came to defendant’s house for a knock and talk about methamphetamine production and found her on the porch, and they quickly established reasonable suspicion and then probable cause. They told her that they were getting a search warrant, and she requested that she be allowed to retrieve shoes and a coat. The officers would not let her go back in without a police escort. She was not “seized” for Fourth Amendment purposes. “The fact that Detective Smith would not allow Sugg to enter the residence without an escort before the warrant could be obtained was not unreasonable. This conduct was a minimal intrusion upon Sugg’s ordinary activities in light of the risk of destruction of evidence or obtaining a weapon.” Sugg v. State, 991 N.E.2d 601 (Ind. App. 2013).

The officer had reasonable suspicion something was up because of various factors including defendant’s strange and highly improbable travel plans. United States v. Hernandez-Lizardi, 530 Fed. Appx. 676 (10th Cir. 2013).*

NYT: Apple Says It Is ‘Unaware’ of N.S.A. iPhone Hack Program by Nicole Perlroth:

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A “roadblock” on a river for intoxicated boaters was reasonably conducted, and defendant’s BWI conviction is affirmed. People v. Butorac, 2013 IL App (2d) 110953, 2013 Ill. App. LEXIS 923 (December 27, 2013):

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The Atlantic: The Supreme Court Logic That Could Destroy Privacy in America by Conor Friedersdorf:

It’s dangerous for courts to continue adhering to Smith vs. Maryland, a decision that was made before the advent of big data.

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