Electronic Border Searches After Riley
Abstract
This thesis discusses the implications of the Supreme Courts 2014 decision in Riley v. California for the search of electronic devices at the border, termed electronic border searches. It explores the degree to which such searches continue to be constitutionally permissible and contrasts Rileys categorical rule protecting electronic devices in the interior with the general search power granted the government at the border. Following an examination of the divergences among lower courts in applying Riley, it finds Riley has limited application to the conduct of electronic border searches and that they continue to be constitutionally permissible. This thesis also explores how the reasonableness of such searches can be maintained despite evolving technology and privacy perceptions. By examining other legislative and constitutional rules, it derives an approach for electronic border searches where powerful government interests and privacy concerns collide. The result is a view ofelectronic devices at the border as hybrid propertyas both containers and novel effects. Accordingly, this thesis advocates a hybrid-scope-limited approach that tethers suspicion-less electronic border searches to the original rationale for the border search doctrine. It presents a bifurcated framework leading to a two-tiered, hybrid-scope-limited rule where distinct levels of intrusion into electronic devices at the border are tied to differential levels of suspicion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1126776
Entities
People
- Aaron Bode
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School