HB 392: Correcting a Bad Supreme Court Ruling
This bill directly confronts a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling, based on an incident occurring in Utah, that allows police officers to illegally stop people and see them prosecuted for any contraband they might find.
Utah needs a constitutional amendment to protect electronic data
The following op-ed, written by our research intern Molly Davis, was published today in the Salt Lake Tribune. In the digital era, our private lives are often stored within our mobile devices. In a surveillance state, law...
SB226: Requiring a Warrant for Police to See Through Our Walls
This bill passed both chambers of the legislature unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Herbert. Libertas Institute supports this bill. A 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case, Kylio v. U.S., addressed the use of thermal imaging...
Key Quotes from the First Annual Fourth Amendment Forum
The following are some of the important excerpts from our First Annual Fourth Amendment Forum. They are provided with time codes in case you are interested in watching that portion of the video to see the comment in context. Kara...
Shurtleff raid further proof of over-militarization of police
The following op-ed, co-authored with ACLU Utah and the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Laywers, was published in the Salt Lake Tribune. The actions of law enforcement officers during their recent search of former Utah...
U.S. Supreme Court Moves to Protect Cell Phone Data
In a unanimous opinion announced earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police officers must obtain a warrant to search a cell phone that is seized incident to an arrest. The case stemmed from the 2009 arrest of David...