Juris Vodcast » 4th Amendment

Medical MJ Wins at Supreme Court

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:46:40 +0000

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear San Diego’s appeal of California’s Compassionate Use Act. This is good news.

Benefit of Doubt Goes to Cops

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:48:41 +0000

The US Supreme Court just narrowed the 4th Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures in a case called Herring v. United States.

This is a case about the Exclusionary Rule. Writing for the 5-4 majority, Chief Justice Roberts argues that the mistakes of law enforcement are not serious enough in the case to justify excluding the evidence. This is not an outrageous argument, and it is not wildly out of line with the relevant cases.

I don’t think this is a wise decision. Why should law enforcement be rewarded for being careless?

Don’t take my word for it. Read the decision and the dissents for yourself and think about the issues presented.

Spy Satellites & Wall Street Bailout

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:05:35 +0000

This has been a dreadful week for Constitutional government in the United States. First, the government funds the National Applications Office. This is another step towards combining the US military with domestic law enforcement. Next, they enact the Wall Street bailout bill, one of the biggest crimes ever committed against the US Taxpayer.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:11:30 +0000

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is the most important treaty you’ve never heard of. The big western countries are busy negotiating this big trade deal in secret. The news about ACTA that has leaked out of the negotiations is cause for concern.

Meanwhile, the US Senate Judiciary Committee has voted for a bill called The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act. This distinctly wretched bill goes so far as to have the Justice Department empowered to file civil lawsuits against alleged copyright pirates. I guess the recording industry preferrs to have the taxpayers pay for their efforts to enforce their property rights. The only Senators to oppose this bill were Republicans.

FISA Court Denies Public Access

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:43:11 +0000

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was passed in 1978 and revised a few weeks ago. This law creates a SECRET COURT, to which the government has to go to get a rubber-stamped warrant to conduct surveillance on foreigners on US soil.

The ACLU sued to get access to proceedings held by this court. Unsurprisingly, the attempt has failed. It’s an interesting case to have a look at. If you’re interested, check out the court’s decision, the government’s brief, or the following news stories: here, and here.

GPS & the Fourth Amendment

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:02:36 +0000

Since 1967, the US Supreme Court has acknowledged that the 4th Amendment will have to evolve with the advances in technology. The case law is getting interesting.

US v. Garcia is a 2007 case from the 7th Circuit. Follow the link and have a look at the decision for yourself. You can read a Harvard Law Review article about the issues here. I think the court’s reasoning is sensible and scholarly, although I would have used it to reach the opposite result in the instant case. Here’s a recent Washington Post article on GPS and the 4th Amendment.

H.R. 6702: Strengthening the 4th Amendment

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:10:40 +0000

The Department of Homeland Security claims that it has the right to take away a traveler’s laptop or other electronic device, keep it indefinitely, and share the data with anybody they want, without any suspicion of wrongdoing.

House Resolution 6702, by Ron Paul and Eliot Engel, would require the Department to show reasonable suspicion of criminal activity before it could search and seize electronic gadgets from travelers.

Read about the DHS and HR 6702 here, here here and here.

Strip-Searched Kid Can Sue

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:09:28 +0000

Savannah Redding, a 13 year-old honor student, was strip-searched at school because a girl who already was in trouble said Savannah might be carrying ibuprofen.

The 9th Circuit says Savannah has the right to sue the child molester school administrator who did it. The case raises issues in two different areas: the 4th Amendment’s protection against illegal searches, and the idea of limited immunity for officials.

Read the 9th Circuit Decision – NJ v TLO – Saucier v Katz

FISA Update: Hillary Clinton Defends the Constitution

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:18:19 +0000

The President signed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This is more dreadful news for those of us who respect the rule of law.

This bill gives the government even more power to collect highly personal data without a warrant or probable cause. It gives immunity the big telecommunications companies that illegally conspired with the Bush Administration to spy on innocent Americans.

Hillary Clinton stood up for the Constitution, supporting a filibuster on the bill and voting against it. Barak Obama supported President Bush.

Resisting FISA

Scott F. Pearce, Esq. — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:45:28 +0000

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a draconian bill that will make all of us significantly less safe – from the prying eyes of our own government. Not only does this bill allow the government to record all international phone calls and data messages that cross the US border, it gives the big telecommunications companies immunity for their prior illegal acts.

Senators Feingold and Dodd are standing up for the Constitution. They have delayed the vote on this bill until after the upcoming holiday. Here is a recent interview with Feingold.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is seizing laptops and memory cards at the border and making mirror image copies – without a warrant and without probable cause.