Supreme Court Holds that “Dog Sniffing” in Area Around the Home Constitutes a Fourth Amendment “Search”

Florida v. Jardines
By Mary Grinman – Edited by Geng Chen

In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the Supreme Court of Florida, which had held that the use of a trained narcotics dog to inspect the area immediately surrounding Joelis Jardines’s home, including his porch, constituted a Fourth Amendment “search.”

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No Warrant Required for Undercover Agent to Use Concealed Recording Device, Says Ninth Circuit

United States v. Wahchumwah
By Pio Szamel – Edited by Geng Chen

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a ruling by the Eastern District of Washington which held that the use of a concealed audiovisual recording device on the person of an undercover agent to record inside a defendant’s home without a warrant did not violate the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights. In inviting the undercover agent into his home, the defendant “forfeited his expectation of privacy as to those areas that were knowingly expose[d] to” the undercover agent.

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Judge Orders Plaintiffs in Sexual Harassment Case to Produce Social Media Passwords

EEOC v. Original Honeybaked Ham Co. of Georgia
By Jessica Vosgerchian — Edited by Geng Chen

The magistrate judge in a sexual harassment class action against The Original Honeybaked Ham Company of Georgia (“Honeybaked Ham”) has ordered plaintiffs to produce passwords to their social media and email accounts as well as surrender their cell phones to a court-appointed special master who will review the materials for discoverable information.

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Unites States v. Magana By Casey Holzapfel – Edited by Geng Chen United States v. Magana, No. 12-CR-154 (E.D. Wis. Oct. 29, 2012) Order United States v. Mendoza, No. 12-CR-154 (WCG/WEC) (E.D. Wis. Oct. 9, 2012) Recommendation The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin ruled that Wisconsin law enforcement officers did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they installed hidden surveillance cameras on private property without a warrant. Judge William Griesbach accepted the recommendation of Magistrate ... Read More...

State Appeals Court Rules for Online Ticketing Site Under Federal Communications Law By Geng Chen – Edited by Lauren Henry Hill v. StubHub, Inc., NO. COA11-685, 2012 WL 696223 (N.C. App. Ct. March 6, 2012) Slip Opinion The Court of Appeals of North Carolina reversed the Guilford County Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment for the plaintiffs in an unfair and deceptive trade practices case arising out of the 2007 “Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana” concert tour. The trial court ... Read More...