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Comment by datashovel | Hacker News Reader

I wish I had a timeline that showed me the frequency of stories coming out on this.

I am only spitballing here, but does anyone else think the heat has risen for federal law enforcement to set some precedents on this stuff now that Antonin Scalia has died? My hunch is that with another liberal judge on the Supreme Court there may be a push to have some of this type of case heard at the highest court.

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> I am only spitballing here, but does anyone else think the heat has risen for federal law enforcement to set some precedents on this stuff now that Antonin Scalia has died?

Scalia often ruled against law enforcement's attempts to abuse their search powers.

Examples:

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2000/99-8508

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/11-564

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/13-9972

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2008/07-542

It's not clear to me how he would have ruled in this case, but I don't think it would have been open and shut.

Another president will be in office before any case resulting from current action will reach the Supreme Court.

On any case where he would have had a deciding vote, the result will now be 4-4. That means that the lower court decision stands, that there is no national precedent (appeals court decisions are only binding precedent within their circuit), and that the Supreme Court is very likely to take up the case again when there's a 9th judge. Essentially as if they had never taken the case. I doubt the current members of the Supreme Court would agree to waste their time hearing a case where they know it'll end up 4-4.

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