Tuesday, February 24, 2004

There's a little good news tonight. Unfortunately it's not about the AWB.

From Say Uncle comes a link to this story:

"A divided Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a federal agent can be sued for violating the constitutional rights of a couple during a search of their ranch, refusing to shield officers from personal liability when they make mistakes on search warrants."

The agents in question were from the ATF & their transgression was a common one - the warrant did not name anything to be seized.

From what I've heard over the years, the ATF have a bad habit of serving warrants just like that. Hopefully this will put a stop to it.

Here's why it's a bad thing to have a blank space like that in a warrant:

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Emphasis added by SCOTUS. :)

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