Three wins for the Constitution

[KeithKSR]

In the past few days the SCOTUS has handed out three wins for the Constitution in unanimous fashion. Requiring a search warrant for cell phones, limiting recess appointments to actual recesses, and lifting the 35 foot no free speech zone around abortion clinics in Massachusetts are all decisions that seem to go against the executive and legislative branch moves toward making the US a police state.

[PedroDaGr8]

In the past few days the SCOTUS has handed out three wins for the Constitution in unanimous fashion. Requiring a search warrant for cell phones, limiting recess appointments to actual recesses, and lifting the 35 foot no free speech zone around abortion clinics in Massachusetts are all decisions that seem to go against the executive and legislative branch moves toward making the US a police state.

The cell phone one was a huge one. I can't say this enough. They rightfully understood how much of a person's life is on their phone. How in fact you likely could find out more about them and invade their privacy more by searching their phone than you could searching their house. This was being heavily abused by a few police departments, some had devices that would rapidly scan and log all data from a phone during a traffic stop. I admit I don't remember all of the details but I know it logged things like all of the sms, contacts, call history, pics etc. All to be held indefinitely. On that note, didn't they just rule that you can't store data collected from a pc indefinitely without a warrant. So make it four. Back to the cellphone scanner, I don't know the exact details of how it was used, I can't imagine it being a routine stop. It's still scary to imagine that level of intrusion and how quick and efficiently it could be done. This doesn't even begin to address the stingray mess.

[PedroDaGr8]

Actually the seized data case was second court of appeals. Law enforcement seized an accountants data with a targeted warrant , held it for 2.5 years before they got enough probable cause to get a warrant to search it. The court rules the extended seizure itself required a general warrant.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/06/seizing-data-for-2-5-years-amounts-to-general-warrant-court-says/