Topic: Fourth Amendment
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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'Stop and frisk': 7 questions about New York's controversial policing tactic
A federal class-action lawsuit regarding the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program has raised questions about the controversial practice made legal under a 1968 US Supreme Court ruling. But what is it, and does it work?
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Alabama immigration law faces legal challenge: Can it survive?
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'Stop and frisk': 7 questions about New York's controversial policing tactic
A federal class-action lawsuit regarding the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program has raised questions about the controversial practice made legal under a 1968 US Supreme Court ruling. But what is it, and does it work?
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Officials seize AP's phone logs: What are they looking for?
The Associated Press is now in the news as well as covering it: Justice Department officials secretly obtained two months of telephone records from AP reporters and editors.
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Supreme Court: forced blood tests in drunk-driving cases not always OK
The Supreme Court decision Wednesday means that sometimes police will need to obtain a warrant in drunk-driving cases before administering a forced blood test – and that sometimes they won’t.
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Can police collect DNA when someone is arrested? Supreme Court to decide.
At issue in the case the Supreme Court considered Tuesday is whether collecting DNA from an arrestee without first obtaining a warrant is an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment.
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'To protect ... not exploit.' Ex-cop gets 3 years for traffic-stop thefts.
A former Alabama police officer confessed that he and a partner stole money from motorists they pulled over under the guise of traffic stops. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution.
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Drunk driving: Supreme Court considers whether forced blood tests are OK
The case, which the Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday, pits the requirements of the Fourth Amendment against the need for effective enforcement of drunk-driving laws nationwide.
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Drunk driving: Can blood-alcohol test be forced? Case reaches Supreme Court.
The justices will hear arguments Wednesday in the case of a drunk driver forced to submit to a blood test. State supreme courts are divided on whether that violates the Fourth Amendment.
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Can police collect DNA before conviction? Supreme Court to hear case.
Many states allow police to collect DNA samples from people who have been arrested. But others see that as a violation of the Fourth Amendment. Now, the Supreme Court will step in.
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Supreme Court to consider how and when police can use drug-sniffing dogs
The US Supreme Court considers Wednesday whether the Florida Supreme Court was correct in making it harder for law enforcement to use dogs to discover illicit drugs in a home or vehicle.
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Forced blood test for a drunk-driving suspect? Supreme Court to step in.
A Missouri trooper ordered a blood test for a suspected drunk driver who had refused one, without having a warrant. US Supreme Court said Tuesday it will decide if that action was justified. The case could help define the scope of protections against unreasonable searches.
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Will Arizona-inspired illegal immigration laws run afoul of Constitution?
Courts take dim views of anti-illegal immigration laws in Georgia, Alabama, and Arizona, even as they start letting some provisions take effect. Police must now enforce the laws without profiling.
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Judgment time for 'America's Toughest Sheriff' Joe Arpaio
Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio – known for his controversial jail tactics and tough stand on immigration – faces a class-action lawsuit and US Justice Department probe of alleged racial profiling targeting Latinos. He's also up for reelection.
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What will Twitter do in the case of the subpoenaed tweets?
Prosecutors want records of tweets from Malcolm Harris, who was at a disruptive Occupy protest, and a New York judge says Twitter must turn them over. The case may help define the line between privacy rights and prosecutorial authority in the online realm.
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Was Taser use on pregnant woman excessive force? Supreme Court declines case.
The Supreme Court refused the case of a pregnant woman who was ticketed for speeding in a school zone in Seattle. When she refused to get out of her car, police used a Taser to shock her three times.
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Judge strikes down 'suspicionless' drug testing of Florida state workers
A federal judge's ruling strikes down Florida's first-in-the-nation drug testing law – and could give pause to other states considering suspicionless drug testing of state workers or others receiving state funds.
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Supreme Court approves strip searches for minor offenses
Jail officials are justified in performing strip searches as a reasonable precaution to maintain safety and order at their facilities, the Supreme Court said Monday.
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Rights at Risk
Are Americans in the process of abandoning their rights?
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Drug testing: Florida aims to be first to test public workers
New Florida drug-testing law allows agency heads to randomly test public workers for illegal drugs, prescription drugs, and alcohol. But it exempts the governor and state legislators.
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Is taking DNA a reasonable search? US judges uphold California law.
A 2004 California law permits DNA samples taken from adults arrested for felonies to be stored in a national database. Challengers said that violates Fourth Amendment privacy protections.
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Unanimous Supreme Court: Get a warrant before installing GPS tracking device
The ruling upholds a broad right to be free from unreasonable searches. But it also highlights a struggle within the Supreme Court to balance law enforcement objectives with privacy concerns.
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The Vote New Hampshire Republican debate: Why isn't Ron Paul attacking Mitt Romney?
The New Hampshire debate Saturday was marked by a conspicuous lack of attacks on front-runner Mitt Romney, even from flamethrower Ron Paul. That Republican debate strategy might not work for Romney's challengers long-term.
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Does drug dog sniff outside home violate privacy? Supreme Court takes case. (+video)
The Supreme Court will examine a case in which a drug dog signaled the presence of narcotics after being brought to the door of a home. A warrant was obtained, and growing marijuana was found.
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Supreme Court to weigh: Can man sue Secret Service agents in Dick Cheney case?
Two Secret Service agents arrested a Colorado man who criticized US policy in Iraq during a public appearance by Dick Cheney in 2006. The Supreme Court agreed Monday to take the case.
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Can right to privacy bar a strip search in jail? Supreme Court hears case.
A motorist jailed for a minor offense in 2005 says two New Jersey jails violated his privacy rights by subjecting him to a strip search. The jails told the Supreme Court that security justifies the practice.
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US Supreme Court opens, likely to wade into health care debate
It seems inevitable that the US Supreme Court will agree to hear the legal challenge to President Obama’s health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act. As the court opens Monday, gun laws, immigration, racial preferences, and separation of church and state loom as major issues as well.
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