Also known as: expectation of privacy · reasonable expectation of privacy · reasonable expectations of privacy
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard used to determine whether government conduct constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. The standard requires both that a person exhibit an actual subjective expectation of privacy and that society recognize that expectation as objectively reasonable. What a person knowingly exposes to the public receives no protection while efforts to preserve privacy even in exposed areas may receive constitutional protection.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Federal agents issued an administrative subpoena to a wireless carrier seeking a full year of historical cell-site location records for analyst Bridget. The records revealed her movements at multiple meetings tied to suspected fraud. Bridget moved to suppress the data on the ground that the government had obtained it without a warrant. The court granted the motion because the pervasive long-term location information implicated her protected expectation of privacy.
Elijah stayed overnight at his cousin's apartment with the owner's permission. Officers entered the apartment without a warrant and seized evidence from the living room. Elijah moved to suppress the evidence arguing that the entry violated his own Fourth Amendment rights. The court granted the motion because an overnight guest maintains a reasonable expectation of privacy in the host's home.
Ezra entered a phone booth closed the door and spoke in a low voice while placing a call. Officers attached an electronic listening device to the outside of the booth and recorded the conversation without a warrant. Ezra moved to suppress the recording. The court granted the motion because Ezra had exhibited a subjective expectation of privacy that society recognizes as reasonable even though the booth was in a public location.
A high-school principal received a report that student Elise kept cigarettes in her locker. The principal opened the locker without a warrant and found both cigarettes and drug paraphernalia. Elise moved to suppress the evidence. The court denied the motion because students possess reduced expectations of privacy in school property under the special needs of the educational environment.
A grand jury subpoenaed reporter Ella to disclose the identity of a confidential source who had provided information about criminal activity. Ella refused citing First Amendment protections. The court ordered compliance because the reporter had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the identity of a source when the information concerned criminal conduct.
Officers developed probable cause that Erika had committed a felony inside her residence. They entered the home without a warrant and arrested her. Erika moved to suppress statements made after the entry. The court granted the motion because a person maintains a reasonable expectation of privacy in the home that requires a warrant for entry even when probable cause exists.
Yes. Individuals retain a reasonable expectation of privacy in historical cell-site location information even though the records are maintained by service providers. The government must therefore obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before accessing such pervasive long-term location data.
Yes. An overnight guest generally possesses a reasonable expectation of privacy in the host's home and may therefore challenge a search of the premises under the Fourth Amendment.
…now be overruled; its limitation on Fourth Amendment protection is, in the present day, bad physics as well as bad law, for reasonable expectations of privacy may be defeated by electronic as well as physical invasion. Finally, I do not read the Court's opinion to declare that no interception of a conversation one-half of which occurs in a…
…report on criminal conduct, a system that would be unaccountable to the public, would pose a threat to the citizen's justifiable expectations of privacy, and would equally protect well-intentioned informants and those who for pay or otherwise betray their trust to their employer or associates. The public through its elected and appointed…
…raised by the parties include whether § 647(e) implicates Fourth Amendment concerns, whether the individual has a legitimate expectation of privacy in his identity when he is detained lawfully under Terry , whether the requirement that an individual identify himself during a Terry stop violates the Fifth Amendment protection against…
…is overly generous and does not, by itself, achieve a fair balance between the administrator's right to search and the student's reasonable expectations of privacy
…of his own rights. In order to have standing to assert the claim discussed herein, defendant must demonstrate a legitimate expectation of privacy
First the person must exhibit an actual subjective expectation of privacy. Second that expectation must be one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.
No. A person present in another's apartment solely for a brief commercial transaction without staying overnight or having a prior relationship with the host generally lacks a reasonable expectation of privacy in the premises.
No. Each co-conspirator must independently demonstrate a personal reasonable expectation of privacy in the place searched or items seized.