Orin Kerr
@orinkerr.bsky.social
Professor, Stanford Law School.
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution.
Author, The Digital 4th Amendment:
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Fourth-Amendment-Privacy-Policing/dp/0190627077/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution.
Author, The Digital 4th Amendment:
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Fourth-Amendment-Privacy-Policing/dp/0190627077/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0
Very interesting forthcoming article on state constitutional equivalents to the 4th Amendment, and how state courts do and don't interpret them, from Quinn Yeargain.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #N
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #N
January 21, 2026 at 5:38 AM
Very interesting forthcoming article on state constitutional equivalents to the 4th Amendment, and how state courts do and don't interpret them, from Quinn Yeargain.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #N
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #N
Here's another question from my Fall 2025 Criminal Procedure exam. This was the one question that was not an issue-spotter.
You have 45 minutes.
BEGIN.
You have 45 minutes.
BEGIN.
January 20, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Here's another question from my Fall 2025 Criminal Procedure exam. This was the one question that was not an issue-spotter.
You have 45 minutes.
BEGIN.
You have 45 minutes.
BEGIN.
This 4th Circuit case from 2019—and more importantly, the Supreme Court caselaw that led to it and the other cases like it—explains at least part of what we're seeing today with respect to ICE enforcement. The question is always, what's the remedy?
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
January 20, 2026 at 8:40 PM
This 4th Circuit case from 2019—and more importantly, the Supreme Court caselaw that led to it and the other cases like it—explains at least part of what we're seeing today with respect to ICE enforcement. The question is always, what's the remedy?
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
For those interested, here's one of the questions I asked in my Fall 2025 Criminal Procedure exam.
You have 45 minutes.
BEGIN.
You have 45 minutes.
BEGIN.
January 20, 2026 at 3:13 AM
For those interested, here's one of the questions I asked in my Fall 2025 Criminal Procedure exam.
You have 45 minutes.
BEGIN.
You have 45 minutes.
BEGIN.
I've written a lot about why I think terms of service can't eliminate Fourth Amendment rights online. I was very pleased to see Justice Dallet's concurring opinion in State v. Gasper agreeing with that view; it's the strongest judicial endorsement of that view yet.
www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
January 16, 2026 at 4:11 AM
I've written a lot about why I think terms of service can't eliminate Fourth Amendment rights online. I was very pleased to see Justice Dallet's concurring opinion in State v. Gasper agreeing with that view; it's the strongest judicial endorsement of that view yet.
www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
Are there Fourth Amendment limits—and if so, what are they—on taking a person's picture and uploading it to a facial recognition database during a Terry stop for immigration violations?
No cases on this. And without a Bivens remedy, I'm not sure there will ever be any cases on this.
No cases on this. And without a Bivens remedy, I'm not sure there will ever be any cases on this.
January 16, 2026 at 4:05 AM
Are there Fourth Amendment limits—and if so, what are they—on taking a person's picture and uploading it to a facial recognition database during a Terry stop for immigration violations?
No cases on this. And without a Bivens remedy, I'm not sure there will ever be any cases on this.
No cases on this. And without a Bivens remedy, I'm not sure there will ever be any cases on this.
Woman consents to social worker search of house, finds drugs in bathroom in glasses case. Social worker calls cops. Woman refuses to let police search; police search anyway, get the drugs. ND SCT: Police search ok, b/c 1st search extinguished rights. ndcourts.gov/supreme-cour...
January 15, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Woman consents to social worker search of house, finds drugs in bathroom in glasses case. Social worker calls cops. Woman refuses to let police search; police search anyway, get the drugs. ND SCT: Police search ok, b/c 1st search extinguished rights. ndcourts.gov/supreme-cour...
"Does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require police officers to depart from their usual methods for making arrests when they confront individuals with disabilities?" Interesting concurrence by Judge Eric Murphy on that topic, here:
www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf...
www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf...
January 15, 2026 at 3:47 AM
"Does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require police officers to depart from their usual methods for making arrests when they confront individuals with disabilities?" Interesting concurrence by Judge Eric Murphy on that topic, here:
www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf...
www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf...
Justice Dallet, concurring, joined by Justice Crawford: Although the Court doesn't reach the question, Terms of Service do not eliminate Fourth Amendment rights.
January 15, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Justice Dallet, concurring, joined by Justice Crawford: Although the Court doesn't reach the question, Terms of Service do not eliminate Fourth Amendment rights.
Joining the CA5 & CA6, and disagreeing w/the CA2 & CA9, Wisconsin SCT holds that govt opening a file that had been flagged as CSAM by private provider scanning that found a hash match does not exceed the private search doctrine and does not require a warrant.
www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
January 15, 2026 at 1:39 AM
Joining the CA5 & CA6, and disagreeing w/the CA2 & CA9, Wisconsin SCT holds that govt opening a file that had been flagged as CSAM by private provider scanning that found a hash match does not exceed the private search doctrine and does not require a warrant.
www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
"FBI executes search warrant at Washington Post reporter’s home," via Wapo.
washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
January 14, 2026 at 8:52 PM
"FBI executes search warrant at Washington Post reporter’s home," via Wapo.
washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Ending the Term in January with its final opinion, the Supreme Court rules 9-0 in Case v. Montana that emergency entry to a home does not require probable cause. Per Kagan.
supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
January 14, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Ending the Term in January with its final opinion, the Supreme Court rules 9-0 in Case v. Montana that emergency entry to a home does not require probable cause. Per Kagan.
supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
Ending the Term in January with its final opinion, the Supreme Court rules 9-0 in Case v. Montana that emergency entry to a home does not require probable cause. Per Kagan.
supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p... #N
supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p... #N
January 14, 2026 at 7:39 PM
Ending the Term in January with its final opinion, the Supreme Court rules 9-0 in Case v. Montana that emergency entry to a home does not require probable cause. Per Kagan.
supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p... #N
supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p... #N
Man who was using the common area of homeless day shelter did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the shower area when he left the door partially open, enabling officers in the common area to see in, Maine SCT rules.
www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/l...
www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/l...
January 14, 2026 at 4:09 AM
Man who was using the common area of homeless day shelter did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the shower area when he left the door partially open, enabling officers in the common area to see in, Maine SCT rules.
www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/l...
www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/l...
Chief Judge Colloton's concurrence in the judgment.
January 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Chief Judge Colloton's concurrence in the judgment.
"When an officer fires at a dog, is there a seizure of the dog’s owner when the stray bullet hits her instead? We conclude the answer is no." — 8th Circuit per Stras, J.
Colloton, con in j: This is an unwise effort to create new law on a barely briefed issue.
ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/26/01...
Colloton, con in j: This is an unwise effort to create new law on a barely briefed issue.
ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/26/01...
January 13, 2026 at 8:45 PM
"When an officer fires at a dog, is there a seizure of the dog’s owner when the stray bullet hits her instead? We conclude the answer is no." — 8th Circuit per Stras, J.
Colloton, con in j: This is an unwise effort to create new law on a barely briefed issue.
ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/26/01...
Colloton, con in j: This is an unwise effort to create new law on a barely briefed issue.
ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/26/01...
I know I need to post my new draft article on The Moving Property Problem in Fourth Amendment Law, forthcoming in the Va. L. Rev.—just reworking one last section before I do—but man, once you see it, you see it everywhere. Here it is in the Luigi Mangione case. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
January 13, 2026 at 2:58 AM
I know I need to post my new draft article on The Moving Property Problem in Fourth Amendment Law, forthcoming in the Va. L. Rev.—just reworking one last section before I do—but man, once you see it, you see it everywhere. Here it is in the Luigi Mangione case. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The Supreme Court has redistributed U.S. v. Chatrie, the geofence warrant case, for next week. Hard to know if it means anything: Potentially interest to grant, or just a closer look, or maybe someone may write thoughts w/r/t denial. Time will tell.
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
January 13, 2026 at 1:11 AM
The Supreme Court has redistributed U.S. v. Chatrie, the geofence warrant case, for next week. Hard to know if it means anything: Potentially interest to grant, or just a closer look, or maybe someone may write thoughts w/r/t denial. Time will tell.
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
"New High of 45% in U.S. Identify as Political Independents," via Gallup.
news.gallup.com/poll/700499/...
news.gallup.com/poll/700499/...
January 12, 2026 at 6:58 PM
"New High of 45% in U.S. Identify as Political Independents," via Gallup.
news.gallup.com/poll/700499/...
news.gallup.com/poll/700499/...
QI is about establishing principles, not finding a case with identical facts, CA10 says: In this case, the principles of its precedents established that the government's conduct was excessive force. www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/f...
January 10, 2026 at 9:16 AM
QI is about establishing principles, not finding a case with identical facts, CA10 says: In this case, the principles of its precedents established that the government's conduct was excessive force. www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/f...
District court blocks defense from cross examining officer about a prior case in which the officer's conduct violated the 4th Am. CA6, per Thapar: That was not an abuse of discretion under Rule 403, and didn't violate the Confrontation Clause, either. www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf...
January 9, 2026 at 10:37 PM
District court blocks defense from cross examining officer about a prior case in which the officer's conduct violated the 4th Am. CA6, per Thapar: That was not an abuse of discretion under Rule 403, and didn't violate the Confrontation Clause, either. www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf...
Claude offered this explanation, which strikes me as persuasive.
January 8, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Claude offered this explanation, which strikes me as persuasive.
There's disagreement about exactly when after checkout time a hotel renter's 4th A rights in the room end—exactly at that time, or a bit later—but here, it's an easy case, CA3 holds: By any standard, there were no 4th A rights 5 hours after.
www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/251...
www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/251...
January 8, 2026 at 7:29 PM
There's disagreement about exactly when after checkout time a hotel renter's 4th A rights in the room end—exactly at that time, or a bit later—but here, it's an easy case, CA3 holds: By any standard, there were no 4th A rights 5 hours after.
www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/251...
www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/251...
Man is arrested, asks for a lawyer, and expresses concern that cops are taking away his banking info. Cops offer to let him use his cell phone to take photos of the info to send to a family member. He does, unlocking phone to do it. Cops see password, use it. Held: No Miranda violation.
January 8, 2026 at 7:42 AM
Man is arrested, asks for a lawyer, and expresses concern that cops are taking away his banking info. Cops offer to let him use his cell phone to take photos of the info to send to a family member. He does, unlocking phone to do it. Cops see password, use it. Held: No Miranda violation.
Officers arrest driver; they think he has a gun in the car, but lack PC. Search it anyway, finding gun. Govt argues this was a protective sweep to prevent girlfriend from accessing weapon. CA5 reluctantly suppresses; this doesn't fit protective sweep.
www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
January 8, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Officers arrest driver; they think he has a gun in the car, but lack PC. Search it anyway, finding gun. Govt argues this was a protective sweep to prevent girlfriend from accessing weapon. CA5 reluctantly suppresses; this doesn't fit protective sweep.
www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...