Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution”
Police officers carry out random acts of legalized murder against poor people of color not because they are racist, although they may be, or even because they are rogue cops, but because impoverished urban communities have evolved into miniature police states. Police can stop citizens at will, question and arrest them without probable cause, kick down doors in the middle …
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”–Martin Luther King Jr. There’s an ill will blowing across the country. The economy is tanking. The people are directionless, and politics provides no answer. And like former regimes, the militarized police have stepped up to provide a façade of law and order manifested by an …
Arlington, TX — In an effort to protect the citizens of Texas, a massive military-style raid was conducted on the Garden of Eden organic farm and commune. On August 2, 2013, nearly two dozen heavily armed SWAT officers stormed this peaceful farm in search of a plant. They found lots of plants, but much to their dismay, they did not find …
Trying to predict the outcome of any encounter with the police is a bit like playing Russian roulette: most of the time you will emerge relatively unscathed, although decidedly poorer and less secure about your rights, but there’s always the chance that an encounter will turn deadly. The odds weren’t in Walter L. Scott’s favor. Reportedly pulled over for a …
The privacy of Americans’ email has an expiration date. Because of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)—passed in 1986, long before electronic communications became prevalent in the United States—email content is easily accessible to many civil and law enforcement agencies as soon as it is at least 180 days old. Fortunately, politicians on both sides of the aisle are now backing …
Everyone knows Lord Acton’s famous quote: Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But few have heard this equally profound quote from Lord Acton: Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity. Likewise, US Supreme Court Justice Brandeis said: Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for …
A judiciary panel on Monday quietly approved a rule change that would increase the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s surveillance powers, despite concerns over privacy and constitutional rights. The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules voted 11-1 to modify a rule that gives federal judges more flexibility in approving search warrants for electronic data. If passed, it will allow judges to approve …
The ACLU has filed a lawsuit, on behalf of Wikipedia and other organizations, challenging the constitutionality of the NSA’s mass interception and searching of Americans’ international communications. (Image: Available logos/with overlay) Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia and one of the most highly-trafficked websites in the world, announcedTuesday that it—alongside a host of civil liberty advocates, news outlets, and privacy rights organizations—has filed …
“Corporate America is using police forces as their mercenaries.”–Ray Lewis, Retired Philadelphia Police Captain It’s one thing to know and exercise your rights when a police officer pulls you over, but what rights do you have when a private cop–entrusted with all of the powers of a government cop but not held to the same legal standards–pulls you over and …
