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New law review article: "The Fourth Amendment's Exclusionary Rule as a Constitutional Right"

FourthAmendment.com - News - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46

Thomas K. Clancy, The Fourth Amendment's Exclusionary Rule as a Constitutional Right (Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 10, 2012), posted on SSRN. Abstract:

I am a proponent of the view that the rule is constitutionally based and is an individual remedy for the violation of that person’s Fourth Amendment rights. Both sides of the exclusionary rule debate regarding whether it is a mere tool to enforce deterrence or whether it is an individual right-based remedy have weighty authority and supporters. In my view, the constitutionally-based argument is persuasive: in constitutional law, there can be no right without a remedy. Subsidiary arguments reinforce that view. Those include the absence of any rational or empirical justification for the rule if based on deterrence theory, the lack of authority of the Court to apply the rule to the states absent a constitutional basis, and the coherence of justification of exceptions to the rule’s application if constitutionally based, unlike the ad hoc deterrence rationale, which is a mere substitute for each justice’s subjective assessment as to whether to apply the sanction.

TheHill.com: "ACLU backs Twitter's bid to hide user information"

FourthAmendment.com - News - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46

TheHill.com: ACLU backs Twitter's bid to hide user information by Brendan Sasso:

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a brief in a New York state court on Thursday supporting Twitter's effort to avoid handing over the personal information of one of its users to the police.

New York City prosecutors had served Twitter with a subpoena for its data on Malcolm Harris, who was arrested for disorderly conduct during an Occupy Wall Street protest. The prosecutors asked Twitter for Harris's email address and all of his tweets in a three-month period.

Twitter argued that police would need a search warrant to access the communications. The court had concluded that Harris lacked the legal standing to challenge the subpoena on his own, but Twitter argued that its users have the authority to protect their own tweets.

WSJ.com: "U.S. Argues to Preserve GPS Tracking"

FourthAmendment.com - News - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46

WSJ.com: U.S. Argues to Preserve GPS Tracking (paywall) by Julia Angwin and Jess Bravin:

The U.S. government told a federal appeals court Thursday that it still has the right to place Global Positioning System tracking devices on cars without obtaining a search warrant—despite a January Supreme Court ruling that the warrantless installation of such a device violated the Constitution.

In arguments aimed at preserving warrantless GPS tracking evidence in a case before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department relied on the fact that the high court didn't specifically state that a search warrant would be required in other situations.

AELE: "Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure, Qualified Immunity and the Technological Age"

FourthAmendment.com - News - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46

Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure, Qualified Immunity and the Technological Age by Muna Busailah and Stephen P. Chulak, 2012 (6) AELE Mo. L. J. 501 (June 2012):

This article examines two decisions, issued by the United States Supreme Court in January 2012, concerning the Fourth Amendment. The first, Ryburn v. Huff, #11-208, 132 S.Ct. 987 (2012), involves a civil rights action by homeowners against police officers from the City of Burbank, alleging that the officers’ entry into their home violated the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal and held that the officers had a reasonable basis for fearing violence was imminent, which entitled them to qualified immunity.

In the second case, United States v. Jones, #10-1259, 132 S.Ct. 945 (2012), the Supreme Court ruled that the attachment of a Global-Positioning-System (GPS) tracking device to a vehicle, and subsequent use of that device to monitor the vehicle’s movements on public streets, was a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

Bank Bailout Lessons

Opinion Journal - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46
Beware the temptation of a European 'banking union.'


Boston court hands same-sex marriage backers big victory

A Boston federal appellate court ruled Thursday that the federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman is unconstitutional, handing gay-marriage proponents their biggest judicial victory to date and driving the issue closer to a Supreme Court showdown.

The three-judge 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel, ...

Californians aren't hot to legalize pot

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Legalizing marijuana is gaining traction in many places but apparently not in California, the state where the idea first took root.

Half of California voters surveyed say they oppose broad legalization, while 46 support it, according to a University of Southern California Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll ...

Discrimination lawsuits double as definition of 'disability' expands

The number of employment discrimination lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has nearly doubled in the past five years and seen a sharp increase in recent months, federal court records show, as the definition of "disability" has expanded and what many believe are baseless lawsuits are filed.

The ...

NYC proposes ban on sale of oversize sodas

NEW YORK — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is proposing a ban on the sale of large servings of soda and other sugary drinks in the city's restaurants, delis and movie theaters in one of his most aggressive efforts yet to fight obesity.

The proposal marks the first time an American ...

VERSACE: Slower markets for housing, jobs and stocks

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

While we all wait for the May employment report Friday, we have received the latest data on the housing market, and it seems there have been differing perspectives on what it means.

I'm referring to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price 20-city composite index, which hit a reading of 136.9 for ...

American Scene: Mosque construction ongoing despite ruling

TENNESSEE

NASHVILLE — Construction is continuing on a mosque as attorneys debate a judge's ruling that said local officials did not give the public enough notice about a meeting during which building plans were approved.

Opponents of the mosque believe the ruling means construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro ...

All systems A-OK as pioneering private space ship splashes down

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Triumphant from start to finish, the SpaceX Dragon capsule parachuted into the Pacific on Thursday to conclude the first private delivery to the International Space Station and inaugurate NASA's new approach to exploration.

"Welcome home, baby," said SpaceX's elated chief, Elon Musk, who said the old-fashioned ...

Strassel: The Corporate Disclosure Ruse

Opinion Journal - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46
The outfits warning companies about the risk of political contributions are themselves the source of the risk.


John Wilson: The Hunt for the Good Sermon

Opinion Journal - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46
Are American churches really suffering a crisis of bad preaching?


Michael Saltsman: How to Put a Waitress Out of Work

Opinion Journal - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46
When the government forces restaurants to pay servers more, jobs and tip income go down.


John Taylor: Rules for America's Road to Recovery

Opinion Journal - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46
As Hayek taught us, predictable policies will help restore economic prosperity and preserve freedom.


Bob Edgar: ALEC Is a Lobby, Not a Charity

Opinion Journal - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46
The evidence is overwhelming: This nonprofit is not entitled to tax-exempt status.


Notable & Quotable

Opinion Journal - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46
A Pew poll finds that all Europeans consider Germans to be hardest-working—except Greeks, who think they deserve the distinction themselves.


Holder's Racial Incitement

Opinion Journal - Thu, 2024-11-28 09:46
When looking for the Attorney General's motives, think lower.


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