Texas SWAT Team Held Innocent Family at Gunpoint After Raiding the Wrong Home
The officers are avoiding accountability after getting qualified immunity.
Warrants
Study Estimates Nearly 96% of Private Property Is Open to Warrantless Searches
The Institute for Justice says its data show that a century-old Supreme Court doctrine created a huge exception to the Fourth Amendment.
Louisiana Law Lets Wildlife Agents Trespass on Private Property
A lawsuit from the Institute for Justice claims the law violates the Louisiana Constitution.
NYC Child Protection Agency Uses 'Coercive Tactics' To Bully Parents Into Allowing Warrantless Searches
According to a new lawsuit, NYC's child protection agency almost never obtained warrants when it searched over 50,000 family homes during abuse and neglect investigations.
Texas Cops Held a Terrified Couple at Gunpoint After Raiding the Wrong House
Tyler Harrington has filed a lawsuit after four police officers burst into his home in the middle of the night.
Amazon's Ring Will Stop Giving Police Your Doorbell Footage Without a Warrant
While not perfect, the move is a step in the right direction for civil liberties.
Maryland Roommates File Lawsuit After Police Shot Their Dog During Alleged Illegal Home Search
Officers barged into their house without a warrant, shot their dog, and mocked them, a federal civil rights lawsuit says.
This Cop Was Acquitted for His Role in the Breonna Taylor Raid. The Feds Are Prosecuting Him—Again.
Maybe Brett Hankison shouldn't have been found not guilty, but he was. The Constitution says it should stop there.
Cops Stormed Into a Terrified Seattle Woman's Home. It Was the Wrong Address.
Elisabeth Rehn was about to take a bath when police officers kicked down her door, flooded into her apartment, and pointed their guns at her.
Lawmakers Try To Insert Privacy Protections Into the Feds' Snooping Powers
The bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act would stop a lot of warrantless surveillance as a condition for renewal of Section 702 authorities.
Odd Colorado Ruling Upholds Internet Keyword Search Warrant
Court says the warrant was “constitutionally defective” but grants police a “good faith” exception.
How Hippies Saved the Fourth Amendment
The Nixon administration did everything it could to curb antiwar activism. Then the courts said it had gone too far.
Arbitrary Rental Inspections Violate Search and Seizure Protections, Says Iowa Court
Warrantless home invasions are intrusive and dangerous for those on the receiving end.
Feds May Need Warrants To Search Cell Phones at the Border After All
Snooping through emails, video, and photos isn’t the same as stumbling on containers full of cocaine.
Intelligence Services Evade 4th Amendment by Paying for Your Data
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned that the practice threatens civil liberties, risks "mission creep," and could increase intelligence agencies' power.
Michigan Supreme Court To Decide If Government Can Warrantlessly Spy on You With Drones
The state court of appeals held previously that unconstitutionally collected evidence could still be used for civil enforcement.
Texas House Overwhelmingly Approves Restrictions on No-Knock Warrants
Conservatives who support the bill recognize the conflict between unannounced home invasions and the Second Amendment.
'Reprehensible and Plainly Unconstitutional': Child Welfare Agents Took Their Kids. Now They're Suing.
Even though a family pediatrician said she had "zero concerns," child welfare services still seized Josh Sabey's and Sarah Perkins' two young children. It took four months for the couple to regain custody.
Federal Agencies Are Still Using Our Phones as Tracking Beacons
Our mobile devices constantly snitch on our whereabouts.
Justice Department Probe Finds Illegal, Violent, and Discriminatory Policing in Louisville, Kentucky
The two-year investigation, launched after the police killing of Breonna Taylor, concluded that Louisville police routinely used invalid search warrants and failed to knock and announce their presence.
West Virginia Family Court Judge with History of Arranging Warrantless Searches Resigns
We may have finally discovered a limit to judicial immunity.
Rep. Adam Schiff Seeks Dianne Feinstein's Senate Seat
They both share in their authoritarian desires to censor online speech and violate citizen privacy.
A Politically Split Congress Can Perhaps Fuel Federal Surveillance Reforms
Part of a law that authorizes warrantless snooping is about to expire, opening up a opportunity to better protect our privacy rights.
Illinois City Agrees To Stop Fining People for Resisting Warrantless Home Inspections
Zion’s attempts to push out unwanted renters collides with Fourth Amendment protections.
This Mom Was Jailed for Leaving Her Teen Home Alone. Now, She's Suing.
An appeals court rejected a qualified immunity defense.
Apple Announces Stronger Data Encryption, to the Dismay of FBI Snoops
Photos and information you store on iCloud will be safer from hackers, spies, and the government.
Eleventh Circuit Quashes Trump Effort to Block Federal Government Access to Mar-a-Lago Documents
In a brief and forceful opinion, a unanimous court explains why the trial court never had jurisdiction to consider Trump's filings in the first place.
The Best Ever Libertarian Gift Guide
Until next year's, because capitalism is always making things better.
See the Surveillance State at Work in Your Own Community
The Atlas of Surveillance lets us monitor the agencies that snoop on the public.
Michigan Court Allows Town To Use Drones To Snoop Without Warrants. One Couple Is Suing.
The Institute for Justice argues evidence from warrantless searches can’t be used for zoning enforcement.
Trump's Declassification Claims Are Implausible and Irrelevant
The potential crimes that the FBI is investigating do not hinge on the current classification status of the records that the former president kept at Mar-a-Lago.
The FBI Regains Access to Mar-a-Lago Documents That Trump Claims He Mentally Declassified
Even if Trump did declassify those records, the 11th Circuit says, he "has not identified any reason that he is entitled to them."
Judge Reviewing Mar-a-Lago Documents Complains That Trump Has Offered No Evidence He Declassified Them
In any case, that issue does not seem relevant under the statutes that the FBI cited in its search warrant.
Marvin Guy No Longer Faces Death Penalty for Allegedly Shooting, Killing Cop in Botched No-Knock Raid
An unannounced SWAT team invaded a Texas man’s home in failed pursuit of drug evidence. They’ve blamed him for the violence they incited.
Trump's Lawyers Say It's Not Clear Whether 'Purported' Classified Documents at Mar-a-Lago 'Remain Classified'
The former president's legal team notably did not endorse his claim that he automatically declassified everything he took with him.
Trump's Document Trove Reportedly Included Information About a Foreign Nation's Nuclear Capabilities
"Nuclear weapons issue is a Hoax," says the former president, who insists that nothing at Mar-a-Lago was actually classified.
Trump Lawyers' 'Diligent Search' for Classified Documents at Mar-a-Lago Missed More Than 100
That failure adds to the evidence that Trump or his representatives obstructed the FBI's investigation.
The Redacted Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant Affidavit Sheds Light on the FBI's Concerns and Trump's Defense
There are still lingering questions about the former president's criminal liability and the threat posed by the documents he kept.
Trump Reportedly Retained Hundreds of Documents That Were Marked As Classified
We still know almost nothing about their contents, which is relevant in assessing the decision to search Mar-a-Lago.
If We See an Expurgated Version of the Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant Affidavit, What Will It Tell Us?
Although U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart is inclined to unseal the document, redactions demanded by the Justice Department could make it hard to understand.
It's Not Clear Why Trump Thinks Disclosing the Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant Affidavit Would Help His Case
Reinforcing the FBI's suspicions was the whole point of that document, which is likely to remain sealed.
Trump's Defense Suggests His Treatment of Classified Material Was Remarkably Cavalier
Whatever threat it may have posed, the trove of government documents seized by the FBI does not reflect well on the former president's judgment.
Sen. Rand Paul Proposes Dumping Entire Espionage Act
The law has been abused to prosecute citizens for reasons other than spying. But there are better examples than Trump to highlight problems.
Donald Trump's Handling of Classified Material Looks Worse Than Hillary Clinton's
The former president thought his 2016 opponent should go to prison for recklessly endangering national security.
Democrats Don't Trust 'the Police,' but They Do Trust the FBI, Provided It Is Targeting Donald Trump
As the response to the Mar-a-Lago raid illustrates, Republicans are inconsistent in the other direction.
Concerned About Abortion Surveillance and Law Enforcement? Time To Treat Encryption Seriously
A mother-daughter arrest in Nebraska was fueled in part by unencrypted Facebook messages police accessed through a warrant.