Search and Seizure in the News:

1. If you do find that you have extra time after covering the day's lesson, you may wish to mention the Fourth Amendment case the U.S. Supreme Court heard in October, 2012: Florida v. Jardines, which asks whether a police K-9's sniff outside a house gives officers the right to get a search warrant for illegal drugs, or whether the sniff is itself an unconstitutional search. Florida's highest state court said Franky the police dog's ability to detect marijuana growing inside a Miami-area house from outside a closed front door crossed the constitutional line. The case is being closely monitored by law-enforcement agencies nationwide because they depend on dogs for a wide range of law-enforcement duties.  (For full news article, click here.)
2. Another case you may wish to share is U.S. v. Jones: the U.S. Supreme Court decided in January, 2012 that extended warrantless use of a GPS tracking device attached to a suspect's automobile constitutes an unconstitutional Fourth Amendment search.  The Court held that wherever the government physically invades a constitutionally protected area in order to gain information, a search has occurred. Persons traveling on public roads have no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their vehicles, and thus the government may visually monitor their movements without raising constitutional issues of unreasonable search. In this case, however, the government did more than a visual inspection of the vehicle: it physically entered upon the vehicle by placing the tracking device, and such a physical occupation is a search.  The issue in the case is similar to State v. Johnson, heard by the Ohio Supreme Court in October, 2011.  State v. Johnson was vacated and remanded by the Ohio Supreme Court in light of the U.S. v. Jones decision. 
   (For full news article on U.S. v. Jones, click here. For overview of oral arguments for State v. Johnson, click here.)
3. Finally, the Slate.com crime blog has posted a guide to citizens' rights during "consensual" police encounters (i.e. those not related to stops for suspected criminal activity).  You may wish to review the post and share it with the students to encourage discussion on constitutional rights in the real world.  (For the full post, click here.)

School closings: We encourage you to check with the schools the day of your 3Rs class in case inclement weather has forced the school to close.  Phone numbers for the schools may be found here.  To check for closings online, click here.  If you discover your school has been closed on Friday, please notify your captain and teammates and Jessica Paine at (216) 696-3525 x4462.  3Rs lessons cancelled due to school closings may be rescheduled according to your teacher and teammates' preferences.