Golden Gate Legal Review publishes commentary and analysis on the constitutional and statutory questions moving through the federal courts and the California legislature — privacy and the Fourth Amendment, housing, criminal justice, immigration, labor, and the law of emerging technology. The Review offers analysis, not legal advice.
The first geofence-warrant case to reach the Supreme Court was decided on June 29, 2026: acquiring a person's Google location data is a Fourth Amendment search, the Court held, leaving the warrant's reasonableness for the Fourth Circuit on remand.
A geofence warrant searches a crowd to find a suspect, inverting probable cause and particularity. How Carpenter, the Chatrie circuit split, and the Supreme Court's June 2026 decision settle whether the acquisition is a search — and what the Court left open.
| Case / Bill Reference | Subject | Status | Last Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatrie v. United States (No. 25-112)U.S. Supreme Court · Argued Apr 27, 2026 | Privacy | DECIDED | 06.29.26 |
| Cal. AB 1157 (Affordable Rent Act)Cal. Assembly · Judiciary Cmte | Housing | FAILED — DIED IN COMMITTEE | 01.31.26 |
| Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (H.R. 4639)U.S. Congress · H.R. 4639 (118th) | Privacy | PASSED HOUSE 2024 · REINTRODUCED 2026 | 04.17.24 |
Recent
Commentary
Rights Groups Challenge ICC Sanctions in Federal Court
A significant legal development this week saw a coalition of four human rights organizations file a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. The suit challenges US sanctions that…
9th Circuit Addresses AI Content Use in Amazon v. Perplexity AI
The landscape of intellectual property law is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (AI). This week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued…
SCOTUS Asked to Lift Mail-In Voting EO Blocks Amid 23-State Challenge
In a significant legal maneuver that highlights ongoing tensions over electoral administration and executive authority, the Trump administration has formally asked the United States Supreme Court to lift…
Provincial Powers and Online Gambling: Ontario as Legal Precedent
Canada does not give its provinces a general power over gambling. It gives them an exemption. Everything Ontario has built since April 2022, a licensed online casino and…