Search And Seizure Update

The Oregon Federal Public Defender’s annual update of Developments in Federal Search and Seizure Law is now available here. We have been publishing this article for many years as a way of keeping track of the positive developments in Fourth Amendment law, which sometimes can seem few and far between. This year’s update includes the Supreme Court’s big Global Positioning System opinion in Jones as well as the Ninth Circuit’s fresh look at knock-and-talks in the curtilage in Perea-Rey. Although some proclaim the end of privacy, the range of cases in which our clients benefit from aggressive search and seizure litigation is heartening. The Fourth Amendment: use it or lose it!

Steve Sady, Chief Deputy Federal Public Defender, Portland, Oregon