Publication Date
2017
Abstract
A privateparty conducting an unreasonablesearch of an
individual need not fear the Fourth Amendment as the
proscriptions therein are applicable against only the
government. The government, however, need not fear the
Fourth Amendment where it replicates that private party's
unreasonable search. As such, the Fourth Amendment is
not offended where the government directs the private
party to "reconstruct" its initial search. This
reconstruction doctrine breeds many questions in
application, particularly in the digital context. In
grappling with these questions, this Note demonstrates
that the current law provides no satisfying answers. It
proposes a new test to assess reconstructed private party
searches that avoids both arbitrary scope-drawing
exercises and semantic squabbling inherent in agency
determinations. The result provides law enforcement
officer clear guidelines as to what constitutes misconduct
and offers the judge a workable legal standard-a
standard absent from current Fourth Amendment
jurisprudence.
Recommended Citation
Chambers, John G.
(2017)
"Simon Didn't Say: When Reconstruction of a Private Search Goes Awry Under the Private Search Doctrine,"
Georgia Law Review: Vol. 51:
No.
2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol51/iss2/5