Court: 4th Amendment Applies At Border, Password Protected Files Not Suspicious

An anonymous reader sends this Techdirt report on a welcome ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals: ""Here's a surprise ruling. For many years we've written about how troubling it is that Homeland Security agents are able to search the contents of electronic devices, such as computers and phones at the border, without any reason. The 4th Amendment only allows reasonable searches, usually with a warrant. But the general argument has long been that, when you're at the border, you're not in the country and the 4th Amendment doesn't apply. This rule has been stretched at times, including the ability to take your computer and devices into the country and search it there, while still considering it a "border search," for which the lower standards apply. Just about a month ago, we noted that Homeland Security saw no reason to change this policy. Well, now they might have to. In a somewhat surprising 9th Circuit ruling (en banc, or in front of the entire set of judges), the court ruled that the 4th Amendment does apply at the border, that agents do need to recognize there's an expectation of privacy, and cannot do a search without reason. Furthermore, they noted that merely encrypting a file with a password is not enough to trigger suspicion."

Comments

100 mile border

[hawguy]

Now if we could get the Supreme Court to roll back their validation of DHS's declaration that the "border" actually extends 100 miles inland from the actual border. Half the population of the USA lives within this extended "border zone".

Re:It's still smart to look clean...

[davester666]

Don't forget, Homeland security doesn't just claim the right to search like this at the borders, but even if you just happen to live and/or travel within 100 miles of the border, regardless of whether or not you have or plan to cross the border. And at all major transportation methods such as planes, buses and trains [both inter and intra-city], and at large public gatherings such as major sporting events like the Superbowl.

I think if you combine all these area's together where Homeland Security believes the constitution doesn't cover you, there may be a few hundred square yards Wyoming which you still may have those rights.