The initial trial judge dismissed the claims, contending that the FBI’s actions were within the bounds of the law.
On Tuesday, the 9th Circuit unanimously overturned the initial decision.
They declared that the FBI had exceeded the limits of its pre-raid warrant, explicitly restricting ‘criminal search or seizure’ of box contents.
The court criticized the FBI’s warrant application, which failed to disclose critical details of the raid. Omitting FBI orders to field agents to “open every box, gather fingerprints, catalog contents, and subject cash to drug dog inspections.”
Doubts about the nature of the search were further fueled by the government’s subsequent use of seized information to obtain more warrants and initiate additional investigations.
Fourth Amendment
Under US law the Fourth Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights that protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
During a December oral argument, judges on the panel condemned the FBI’s warrantless search as ‘egregious’ and ‘outrageous,’ drawing parallels to colonial-era ‘general warrants’ and indiscriminate British searches.
