The Fourth Amendment Meets The Fourth Estate: Law Enforcement Searches Of Journalists – Analysis

By Cassandra J. Barnum and Peter G. Berris

Law enforcement searches or confiscations of news media materials can raise questions about the intersection of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of the press, and the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. 

Litigation stemming from law enforcement's execution of a search warrant for the home and electronic devices of a Washington Post reporter in January...