amicus Body Scanners body scanners domestic surveillance Florida florida v harris Supreme Court terahertz
EPIC Supreme Court Brief: Investigative Techniques are Not Infallible
EPIC has filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court, arguing that new "investigative techniques should be subject to close scrutiny by the courts." EPIC submitted the brief in Florida v. Harris, a case involving a car search in response to an "alert" by a drug detection dog. The Florida Supreme Court held that a law enforcement agent relying on such an "alert" must produce evidence to support the reliability of the detection technique. Filing in support of the Florida decision, EPIC argued that new investigative techniques, such as terahertz scanners, airport body scanners, and digital intercept devices, raise similar concerns about reliability. EPIC described a growing consensus among legal scholars and technical experts about the need to improve the reliability of many forensic techniques. "The 'perfect search,'" EPIC wrote, "like the 'infallible dog,' is a null set." For more information, see EPIC: Florida v. Harris and EPIC: Florida v. Jardines.
August 30, 2012| Share:
