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This is a guest post by Hugh Handeyside, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project, Nathan Freed Wessler, Staff Attorney, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, and Esha Bhandari, Staff Attorney, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. It was originally posted on the ACLU Speak Freely blog.
In September 2017, we, along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, sued the federal government for its warrantless and suspicionless searches of phones and laptops at airports and other U.S. ports of entry.
The government immediately tried to dismiss our case, arguing that the First and Fourth Amendments do not protect against such searches. But the court ruled that our clients — 10 U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident whose phones and laptops were searched while returning to the United States — could move forward with their claims.
Since then, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have had to turn over documents and evidence about why and how they conduct warrantless and suspicionless searches of electronic devices at the border. And their officials have had to sit down with us to explain — under oath — their policies and practices governing such warrantless searches.
What we learned is alarming, and we're now back in court with this new evidence asking the judge to skip trial altogether and rule for our clients.
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Thursday May 02 2019, @05:18PM (5 children)
The problem is now that they're following *him* rather than doing their jobs or the following the constitution, and probably continue to do so when things get ... worse. I don't think the same would apply under Obama, or even Bush. Organizationally, they're thugs. The US better hope the military continues to respect the rule of law.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 02 2019, @05:22PM
The best thing about Trump is he gets idiots to actually pay attention to what the government has been up to all these years. The reason you are more scared now than before is total BS, but at least you are coming to realize you should be scared.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Nerdfest on Thursday May 02 2019, @05:29PM
I should probably throw this [cnn.com] up here as well.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Thursday May 02 2019, @07:28PM
FTFY.
FTFY too.
You sure got that one right, though. 😊
Are you thinking of violations of Posse Commitatus? Congress and the executive have been experimentally meddling [wikipedia.org] with that on and off since 9/11. Or are you just thinking the military will go mad, or what?
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When I dunk my cookies, I think of you.
I hold them under until the bubbles stop.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by urza9814 on Thursday May 02 2019, @08:45PM (1 child)
It was under Bush that ICE was abducting US citizens, throwing them in prison with ZERO evidence against them, and forcing them to labor at $1/day until they could purchase a copy of their own birth certificate to prove their innocence. You call that doing their jobs and following the Constitution? Pretty sure there's something about a presumption of innocence in that particular document...
https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/usa-jailed-without-justice/ [amnestyusa.org] (page twenty, citation number 88)
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday May 03 2019, @02:12PM
Let's also not forget Gitmo. A permanent vacation getaway spot.
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