The 4th Amendment has been described by Conservative HQ as “one of the most important arrows in the quiver against bullying big government.” Because the government doesn’t just search and seize paper–it also goes after your cell phones, your Facebook account, your email (even when stored on Google’s server), your tweets, your DNA (by definition… Read more
E. Administrative searches
Questions presented: (1) Whether facial challenges to ordinances and statutes are permitted under the Fourth Amendment; and (2) Whether a hotel has an expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment in a hotel guest registry where the guest-supplied information is mandated by law and an ordinance authorizes the police to inspect the registry, and if… Read more
State v. Chase A.T., 2014AP260, District 4, 9/4/14 (1-judge; ineligible for publication); case activity A student’s tip to an assistant principal that a bathroom “smelled like marijuana smoke” and that a student named Chase walked out of the bathroom immediately before the tipster smelled the smoke provided reasonable grounds for the assistant principal to search… Read more
State v. Jeremiah J. Purtell, 2014 WI 101, 8/1/14, reversing an unpublished court of appeals decision; majority opinion by Justice Gableman; case activity In a case that expands the power of probation agents to search probationers’ computers and similar digital devices, the supreme court holds that the search of Purtell’s computer by his probation agent was reasonable… Read more
Review of unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity Issue (from the state’s Petition for Review) Whether the court of appeals went beyond the boundaries of an appellate court when it reversed the trial court’s decision based on a sua sponte argument–and subsequent appellate factual determinations–that was never presented to the trial court. Purtell was… Read more
Maryland v. King, USSC No. 12-207, 6/3/13 United States Supreme Court decision, reversing King v. State, 425 Md. 550, 42 A.3d 549 (2012) In a decision validating the collection of DNA from at least some persons before they are even convicted of a crime, a divided Supreme Court has concluded that when officers make an arrest supported… Read more
State v. Jeremiah J. Purtell, 2012AP1307-CR, District 2, 3/7/13 (not recommended for publication); petition for review granted 11/20/13. Case activity. This case concerns a probation agent’s search of the defendant’s computers. Following a conviction for 2 counts of animal cruelty, a court placed the defendant on probation and imposed a condition that he not own… Read more
Question Presented (from cert petition): Does the Fourth Amendment allow the States to collect and analyze DNA from people arrested and charged with serious crimes? Docket Lower court opinion (King v. State, 425 Md. 550, 42 A.3d 549 (2012)) Scotusblog page Under Maryland law, DNA Collection Act, Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety §2-504, an arrestee’s DNA can be collected and submitted… Read more
