Andrew G. Ferguson Profile picture
Law Professor. Author, “The Rise of Big Data Policing” & “Why Jury Duty Matters” & “The Law of Law School.” Tech and criminal justice.
Jul 18 13 tweets 3 min read
A thread on a my just published article — “Digital Rummaging” — that tries to reimagine the Fourth Amendment harms of new mass surveillance technologies.  #surveillance #privacy #FourthAmendment 1/12  

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
Image I have been teaching the Fourth Amendment for 14 years now and still don’t know what a reasonable expectation of privacy is.

Especially, in a world of constant, ubiquitous digital #surveillance I will hazard a guess no one knows. 2/12
Sep 16, 2022 25 tweets 6 min read
A #ConstitutionDay Thread.

September 17th is Constitution Day. By federal law all educational institutions that receive federal funds (elementary to university) are required to teach about the US Constitution. There is no penalty for not doing it, but the goal is to educate. As a law professor and parent, it struck me that there were not many books for elementary age kids about Constitution Day. You go to the library and there is always a section on upcoming holidays, but not much for Constitution Day. It made me sad.
Jul 17, 2022 18 tweets 3 min read
Prepping for criminal procedure in the Fall and it occurred to me how worried we should be about policing abortion, reasonable suspicion, and the too malleable standards of the 4th Amendment. 1/18🧵#Law First, in discussing pregnancy & policing and I am in no way meaning to ignore the intersectionality and or primacy of race, reasonable suspicion, & policing. The reality of race-based stops is well demonstrated. 2/18
Mar 7, 2022 9 tweets 2 min read
Geofence warrants help police find suspects using Google. A ruling could curb their use. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/g… If you are interested in geofence warrants, you should read the Chatrie opinion (linked in the article). A few interesting #surveillance tidbits: 1/8
Jul 15, 2021 5 tweets 3 min read
This opinion raises all the right questions, but ultimately fails in its analysis. It reads like the Court knows they are wrong, but feels trapped by the doctrine that is not nearly as narrow as they assume. Three quick points: 1/5 1) The court does not take seriously the digital is different hints of Riley, Carpenter, and Jones. The retrospective, aggregating, long term, pervasive surveillance is different from the analog cases. Camera systems fit this new problem. 2/5
Aug 13, 2020 15 tweets 3 min read
Some articles stick with you and make you rethink first principles. This article by @equalityAlec is one such article.

currentaffairs.org/2020/08/why-cr… One lesson arising from the “defund police” movement is an awareness that structural inequities in housing, health, education, jobs, addiction treatment, mental health, etc. create “problems“ that some people think police solve. 1/14