All the cool kids are doing it
Everyone is blogging about this no-warrant search business. Brutal Hugs attempts to defend the search but I must disagree because if the guy was threatening to kill judges, that seems to be a sound basis for obtaining a warrant. I don’t think the sky is falling, I just think this is shitty case law. And this case law will be used to further diminish fourth amendment protections.
March 30th, 2004 at 12:29 am
A threat to kill a judge is enough for a search warrant if the tip is credible. Sometimes they’re not reliable enough. Or maybe they don’t want the informant’s name on the affidavit (which to many judges reduces the ability to rely on the informant). So we don’t know whether a warrant would have been issued. My guess is probably it would, but that’s mainly because I think a judge will get hysterical at the notion of some guy plotting to kill judges.
I’m not sure how having a sound basis for getting a warrant makes the search MORE suspect. In my mind, it makes it (slightly) less so.