California: Warrants, Due Process Outdated

[JBeukema]

Legislation passed by two California Senate Committees would do away with the need for warrants...

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

"I can understand why this makes people nervous," said Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. "We have the 4th Amendment that generally requires probable cause [for a search]. This is a huge exception."

"Fraudulent CDs and DVDs undermine our economy and California's role as a global leader in music and film," Padilla said. "They steal revenue from artists, retailers and our entertainment sector.

It would seem Padilla considers the above an ‘exigent circumstance.’

Key support comes from the industry, business groups and the city of Los Angeles.

The American Civil Liberties Union questioned the constitutionality of the bill but so far has not opposed the measure because it said the bill appeared to be narrowly drawn.

The RIAA argued that courts had carved out 4th Amendment exceptions already. So far, it said, warrantless searches have been allowed at such businesses as automobile junkyards and repair shops, mines, gun and liquor stores, nursing homes, massage parlors, pawn shops and wholesale fish dealers.

The common trait, the trade group contended, was that the businesses were in "closely regulated" industries in which "the pervasiveness and regularity of the government's regulation reduces the owner's expectation of privacy in his business records."

CD and DVD manufacturing plants by their nature qualify as closely regulated and should be subject to limited, warrantless searches, Cohen said.

We’re going to ‘carve’ the 4th right out of existence.

The bolded above doesn’t mitigate the expectation to privacy, government agencies don’t determine legal principles – that’s the same as saying residents of a high-crime neighborhood with a heavy police presence should also not have an expectation to privacy or due process.



Link to the above quoted:

Anti-piracy bill: California lawmakers weigh bill to allow warrantless searches of CD and DVD makers - latimes.com

 

[Mr.Nick]

I suppose if you work for the government you have every right to just walk into an individuals home and raid their fridge...

But hey, just as long as it keeps us safe from the "bad guys."