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Orin S. Kerr

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Orin Samuel Kerr is an American legal scholar known for his studies of American criminal procedure and the Fourth Amendment… more

Orin S. Kerr
H-index: 19
Political science 35%
Law 28%
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
I'm confused. You're the one saying that the article supports your view. I read the article in response and pointed out to you that it doesn't support your view. If your reply is that the article isn't worth following because SCOTUS has rejected it, then I wonder why you suggested it at all.

by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
This Indiana Supreme Court case is a reminder that curtilage is not just a concept in Fourth Amendment law—here, it's used in a state constitutional provision on property taxes.
public.courts.in.gov/Decisions/ap...
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
When it refers to "physical seizures," it has in mind direct physical seizures of land— that is, physically taking over someone's land. As I read it, the article argues that this is the only thing the drafters had in mind. True or not, I'm not sure how that helps here.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
Thanks. Seems worth noting that this article argues for a very narrow interpretation of the takings clause and does not mention search and seizure or warrants at all.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
What history about the scope of Takings Clause liability are you relying on when you call this ahistorical?
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
Love it.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
CA7: Under circuit precedent, homeowner can't sue under the Takings Clause for damage to house caused by execution of a search warrant there.
media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opin... #N
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Reposted by: Orin S. Kerr, Pamela Samuelson

annahickey.bsky.social
There's an overwhelming amount of litigation surrounding the Trump administration so over at @lawfaremedia.org we have tried to make it easier to parse it. You can find district court, appellate level, and SCOTUS cases all in one place!

Check it out ⬇️
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
"Hoover Fellow Program: Up-to-5-Year Paid In-Residence Position for Aspiring Academics (Including Aspiring Legal Academics)," via Eugene Volokh.
reason.com/volokh/2025/...
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Reposted by: Orin S. Kerr, Kim L. Scheppele, Christian Odendahl , and 4 more

pwnallthethings.bsky.social
Tragic news from Canada where the Canadian Supreme Court has gone from the official dress on the left to the one on the right
Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in bright red wooly gowns, with a beige trim. It looks sort of like a Santa robe The Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in black gowns with a bright white kravat, and two thin red vertical lines on the side of the robe
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Reposted by: Orin S. Kerr, Brendan Nyhan, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 3 more

joshuajfriedman.com
Judge: That's what I'll do. Prohibit federalization or deployment of any NG troops into Oregon. For all reasons in prior opinion. Deployment of federalized military is ultra vires and contrary to law, violating Title 10, section 12406. I also find it's likely that defendants violate 10th Amendment.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
Florida court: We think the enactment of medical marijuana at the state level, and perhaps legalization of hemp at the federal level, means the smell of cannabis no longer generates probable cause, and we certify the question to the state supreme court.
flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/down...
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Reposted by: Orin S. Kerr, Richard S.J. Tol, Daniel W. Drezner

joshuajfriedman.com
NEW: Judge Immergut BLOCKS Trump's federalization of the Oregon National Guard, writing that the govt has "made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
CONCLUSION For the above reasons, this Court GRANTS Plaintiffs' Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, ECF 6, and temporarily enjoins Defendants' September 28, 2025, Memorandum ordering the federalization and deployment of Oregon National Guard service members to Portland. The TRO expires in fourteen days on October 18, 2025, and the parties are ORDERED to comply with the attached TRO. The Defendants' request to stay or administratively stay the Temporary Restraining Order, see Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, ECF 35 at 41, is DENIED. IT IS SO ORDERED DATED this 4th day of October, 2025 at 3:40 p.m. pacific daylight time. /s/ Karin J. Immergut Karin J. Immergut United States District Judge
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
Just the timeline cleanse I needed.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
The reply brief in Case v. Montana, the pending Supreme Court case on the standard of cause for entry under the emergency aid exception, has been filed. Oral argument is October 15th; blogging at Volokh coming soon.
supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
Joe Henderson, "Y Todavia La Quiero," from Relaxin' at Camarillo (recorded 1979), with Henderson on tenor, Chick Corea on piano, Tony Dumas on bass, and Peter Erskine on drums.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t-s...
Joe Henderson - Y todavia la quiero
YouTube video by quintupla
www.youtube.com
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Reposted by: Orin S. Kerr, Anna O. Law, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 1 more

joshuajfriedman.com
NEW: Judge Crenshaw finds that the Trump admin's criminal prosecution of Kilmar Abrego Garcia may well be vindictive—and greenlights discovery and an evidentiary hearing. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
MEMORANDUM OPINION By way of context, a federal prosecutor is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all. The obligation to govern impartially concerns, above all, the state's exercise of coercive power-meaning its power to deprive its subjects of life, liberty, or property... As a representative of the state, a prosecutor's exercise of coercive power must be impartial ... [in] that prosecutorial power may not be exercised vindictivelymeaning that the prosecutor may not punish a defendant for exercising a protected statutory or constitutional right. United States v. Zakhari, 85 F.4th 367, 384-85 (6th Cir. 2023) (Kethledge, J., concurring) (citations and quotations omitted). This context frames review of Defendant Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's ("Abrego") motion to dismiss his indictment for vindictive and selective prosecution. (Doc. Nos. 104-05). The Government opposes the motion (Doc. No. 121), and Abrego has replied (Doc. No. 127). Abrego's motion is not ripe for decision because he seeks discovery and an evidentiary hearing because there is some evidence of vindictiveness here. For the reasons that follow, the Court holds that the totality of events creates a sufficient evidentiary basis to conclude that there is a "realistic likelihood of vindictiveness" that entitles Abrego to discovery and requires an evidentiary hearing before the Court decides his motion. United States v. Andrews, 633 F.2d 449, 457 (6th Cir. 1980) (en banc), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 927 (1981).
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
I think this was a successful paper academically, but it's a bit disappointing that, given its obvious doctrinal importance, it has been cited in a published judicial opinion only once.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
From the paper.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
This was published 10 years ago, and I believe it's still the leading article on the topic.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Reposted by: Orin S. Kerr

kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: A second Trump-appointed U.S. attorney has been disqualified after a federal judge ruled her appointment invalid.

Sigal Chattah is out as US attorney in Nevada, just like Alina Habba in NJ: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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by Jacob T. Levy — Reposted by: Orin S. Kerr, Philipp Sarasin, Steven S. Taylor , and 2 more

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Quote of the day.
“This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room, because it's the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control. We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.”

Donald Trump to the assembled top brass.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
"I've written about the 4th Amendment regularly for 45 years, all the while practicing law full time. Kerr gave me insights that got by me before. To this criminal defense lawyer, it is a new way of looking at 4th Amendment issues...."—John W. Hall, reviewing my book.
www.amazon.com/Digital-Four...
The Digital Fourth Amendment: Privacy and Policing in Our Online World
The Digital Fourth Amendment: Privacy and Policing in Our Online World [Kerr, Orin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Digital Fourth Amendment: Privacy and Policing in Our Online World
www.amazon.com
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
they were deemed equivalent in the law of assault, as I read it.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
The reason it mattered what was an arrest at common law in Torres is that everyone agreed that an "arrest" was a seizure. So the technical common law meaning of arrests mattered. But why does that extend to assaults?
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
This is interesting, but I'm not sure I agree with it. The issue under Torres is what was an arrest. Touching the person with intent to arrest was an arrest. But I'm not sure why it matters what counted as an assault, as what is an assault is different from what is an arrest.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
Firing bullets that hit a car is a seizure of its driver, even if the driver isn't stopped, CA11 holds, extending Torres v Madrid. Torres says we look to the common law, and back then, assaulting a horse or horse-drawn carriage was an assault on its rider.
media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
It's interesting, when I was a law student, "make it up as you go SC" was taught as the smart person's ideal of Supreme Court decisionmaking. Perhaps that only applies to the Hawaii Supreme Court these days, tho. (I don't like it in any context, but I have little company.)
reason.com/volokh/2024/...
Remembering the Proper Role of the Supreme Court, As Taught at Harvard in the 1990s
When I read reactions to the current Supreme Court from academics today, I'm often struck by the different way that…
reason.com
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
“Like this” is doing a lot of uncertain work in this reply. I think a better response is that the Hawaii Constitution and state law of procedure is entirely different than the federal system.
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by Orin S. Kerr

orinkerr.bsky.social
Creating a new right on an issue not even briefed by the parties, if I follow the opinion correctly— and then holding the unargued legal claim was plain error. Fascinating.
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