The Fourth Amendment in an Age of Surveillance

Description

The Fourth Amendment is facing a crisis. New and emerging surveillance technologies allow government agents to track us wherever we go, to monitor our activities online and offline, and to gather massive amounts of information relating to our financial transactions, communications, and social contacts. In addition, traditional police methods like stop-and-frisk have grown out of control, subjecting hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens to routine searches and seizures. In this work, David Gray uncovers the original meaning of the Fourth Amendment to reveal how its historical guarantees of collective security against threats of 'unreasonable searches and seizures' can provide concrete solutions to the current crisis. This important work should be read by anyone concerned with the ongoing viability of one of the most important constitutional rights in an age of increasing government surveillance.

David Gray is a professor at the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law, where he teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, international criminal law, and jurisprudence. He has published dozens of articles in leading law reviews and is the co-editor of the Cambridge Handbook of Surveillance Law. Before his academic career, Professor Gray practiced white collar criminal law at a leading law firm in Washington, DC.

'An exciting and incredibly well-written investigation about the loss of privacy in America and the real dangers imposed by a surveillance state. This book is an eye-opener about where we are and where we might be going. The book is thoroughly researched and full of cogent and interesting argument. And most importantly it provides a path for greater protection of privacy that makes it a must-read.' Daniel J. Capra, Reed Professor of Law, Fordham Law School, New York 'Technology has so rapidly expanded the scope of government surveillance that current legal constraints on its use have become obsolete. In this book, David Gray proposes a completely novel yet conceptually elegant and eminently workable way of balancing the competing law enforcement and privacy interests at stake, all while remaining faithful to the text and history of the Constitution.' Christopher Slobogin, Milton Underwood Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School, Tennessee 'With the publication of David Gray's trailblazing new work on the Fourth Amendment and the surveillance state, it is fair to say that 'the torch has been passed' to a new generation of American legal scholars - a generation 'unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed.' JFK can rest easy - the torch is in good hands.' Stephen Wm. Smith, United States Magistrate Judge 'David Gray's book is a comprehensive and insightful study of the role the Fourth Amendment plays in regulating and controlling the seemingly never-ending government surveillance of citizens. Gray's book goes back to the origins of the Fourth Amendment and discusses the myriad ways government today spies on individuals. This book is essential reading for anyone interested how government intrudes on constitutional privacy.' Tracey Maclin, Boston University School of Law 'This book is a welcome and informative contribution to the public debate about surveillance - a debate that will lastingly shape how we live together and how we understand privacy and liberty.' Matthew Feeney, The Weekly Standard