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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney's presidential fundraising operation dwarfs those of his Republican rivals, with more than $75 million already in donations. It also operates mysteriously at times, withholding the names of Romney's major fundraisers who have helped amass much of its money....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney's presidential fundraising operation dwarfs those of his Republican rivals, with more than $75 million already in donations. It also operates mysteriously at times, withholding the names of Romney's major fundraisers who have helped amass much of its money....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney's presidential fundraising operation dwarfs those of his Republican rivals, with more than $75 million already in donations. It also operates mysteriously at times, withholding the names of Romney's major fundraisers who have helped amass much of its money....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney's presidential fundraising operation dwarfs those of his Republican rivals, with more than $75 million already in donations. It also operates mysteriously at times, withholding the names of Romney's major fundraisers who have helped amass much of its money....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney's presidential fundraising operation dwarfs those of his Republican rivals, with more than $75 million already in donations. It also operates mysteriously at times, withholding the names of Romney's major fundraisers who have helped amass much of its money....

WASHINGTON — Conservative justices on Tuesday sharply questioned whether the government can force Americans to carry health insurance, wondering in arguments over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul if Congress might next force people to buy broccoli or burial insurance.

"If the government can do that, what else can it" ...

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — Students taking college entrance exams this fall will have to submit photo IDs with their applications — a key security upgrade following a widespread cheating scandal at a number of high schools on New York's Long Island, a prosecutor and testing officials announced Tuesday.

The security ...

CONIFER, Colo. — State forest officials had conducted a prescribed burn last week in the same area where a wind-driven wildfire has destroyed at least 15 homes and left one person dead, authorities said Tuesday.

Ryan Lockwood, a spokesman for the Colorado State Forest Service, said his agency conducted the ...

By all measures, Mitt Romney won convincingly in Puerto Rico earlier this month. He captured 83% of the popular vote and all 20 pledged delegates. But that's not all Romney took back to the mainland. Most of the GOP unpledged delegates have yet to pick a side.

With calls increasing for some or all of them to drop out, challengers to Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney say they intend to keep battling until the nomination gets settled.

President Barack Obama pokes fun at his recent open mic incident with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer why he lashed out at a New York Times reporter.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Conservative justices are sharply questioning whether the government can force Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. That's the key question as the Supreme Court turns to the heart of President Barack Obama's health care law....

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Conceding strained ties, President Barack Obama on Tuesday welcomed Pakistan's review of its relationship with the United States, saying it was important for the two countries to get their partnership right....

NORFOLK, Va. — Milky white chemical clouds were briefly visible in much of the night sky along the Eastern seaboard on Tuesday after NASA launched a series of rockets to study the jet stream at the edge of the earth's atmosphere.

The five sounding rockets began blasting off just before ...

Defendant was found to have consented. Sure, there were a lot of police there, but he wasn’t yet arrested, and they talked casually for 20 minutes before consent was asked for. There was no evidence of overt coercion, and he was informed of his right to refuse the search in writing. United States v. Cochran, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40505 (S.D. Fla. February 8, 2012).*

A wire on a cooperating codefendant-to-be was sufficient to show nexus to defendant’s house because the house was connected to the alleged drug deal. The good faith exception would support the search anyway. United States v. Bell, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40770 (D. Minn. February 6, 2012).*

Police had fairly specific information (which was couched in terms of what they knew and didn’t know) and overhead the CI on a wire talking with a man in a silver Jetta and a drug deal was arranged. When a silver Jetta showed up, the police identified themselves, and the defendant ran from the Jetta. They had probable cause, and flight alone wasn’t all they had. United States v. Bazzle, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40236 (E.D. Pa. March 23, 2012).*

Officers followed tracks in the snow from the scene of a burglary to defendant’s house, and defendant’s father consented to a search of computers in the house that were likely stolen. His father, a retired police officer, appreciated the significance of what was going on and wanted the computers gone. He had apparent authority to consent to a search of these computers. United States v. Clutter, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 6139 (8th Cir. March 26, 2012):

When determining whether a third party exercised actual or apparent common authority over the contents of a computer, courts typically examine several factors -- whether the consenting third party in fact used the computer, whether it was located in a common area accessible to other occupants of the premises, and -- often most importantly -- whether the defendant's files were password protected. See United States v. Stanley, 653 F.3d 946, 950-51 (9th Cir. 2011); United States v. Stabile, 633 F.3d 219, 232-33 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 132 S. Ct. 399 (2011); Andrus, 483 F.3d at 719-20; United States v. Buckner, 473 F.3d 551, 554-55 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 550 U.S. 913 (2007); United States v. Morgan, 435 F.3d 660, 663-64 (6th Cir. 2006). Clutter argues it was error to deny his motion to suppress because the government presented no evidence "that Joel Clutter used or had electronic access to the computers."

The primary flaw in this argument is that the only Fourth Amendment issue with any factual support is whether the three computers were validly seized at the Clutter home on January 22. There is no evidence that the officers searched the computers before obtaining an unchallenged warrant authorizing the search. The distinction, though often overlooked, is important: ....

[Maybe intentionally] Overlooked is a more fundamental question: Is there a reasonable expectation of privacy in stolen computers?

Business Week: Big Brother Wants Your Facebook Password by Claire Suddath:

If you want to become a state trooper in Virginia, you should probably delete any indelicate information you have on Facebook. During the job interview process, the Virginia State Police requires all applicants to sign into Facebook, Twitter, and any social-networking site to which they regularly post information in front of an administrator.

“You sign a waiver, then there’s a laptop and you go to these sites and your interviewer reviews your information,” says Corinne Geller, spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police. “It’s a virtual character check as much as the rest of the process is a physical background check.” Geller says the practice has been around for only three months and is just one of many ways the state makes sure its law enforcement officials are ethically sound. (Potential troopers also have to submit to a polygraph test).

Officers came to defendant’s house for a knock-and-talk about child pornography traced back to his IP address. He wasn’t home but his parents were. Because the computers were used by all, sitting in the dining room, and his parents paid the internet bill, his parents had apparent authority to consent to a search of the computers. The fact he had an individual profile was not enough to create a reasonable expectation of privacy because it was not password protected. United States v. Trejo, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 6113, 2012 FED App. 0315N (6th Cir. March 22, 2012) (unpublished).

Officers found a marijuana patch outside defendant’s curtilage and followed footprints in the mud to defendant’s house. Officers came close to the curtilage, in making their observations, and they actually entered an outbuilding within the curtilage arguing protective sweep because of fresh footprints. That incursion, however, never was revealed to the issuing magistrate, so it was valid under inevitable discovery. United States v. Witherspoon, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 6115, 2012 FED App. 0321N (6th Cir. March 23, 2012) (unpublished).*

In one of the most highly anticipated Supreme Court hearings in years, the justices on Tuesday offered sharply divided views on the controversial individual mandate provision at the heart of the 2010 federal health care reform law.