Border Search of Electronic Devices May Go to the US Supreme Court Michel Marizco - Fronteras Desk
go to original January 2, 2014

A Tucson lawyer has asked the United States Supreme Court to take up a case that may help determine just how thoroughly border officials can search electronics from U.S. citizens without reasonable suspicion.

This is one of a number of cases making its way through the courts that seek to limit the government’s right to dig into personal electronic files at international borders.

Every day, thousands of people cross the border under the scrutiny of the U.S. port inspectors. Customs and Border Protection inspectors, dressed in blue, are looking for contraband: humans, narcotics, or illegal imports. Sometimes a quick question or a quick peek in the trunk is enough to get by.

Except, if inspectors want to do so, they can exercise what’s called the border search exception. It’s a rule designed to provide an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s limits on search and seizure.

Those same rules apply to your tablet or laptop, or even the photos you carry on your smartphone. Privacy advocates have fought some of these cases in court.

Read the rest at Fronteras Desk

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