Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted three cert petitions and called for the Solicitor General’s view on another. In City of Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332, the Court will determine whether government employers may monitor employees’ text messages transmitted with a government-issued pager.
The questions presented are:
1. Whether a SWAT team member has a reasonable expectation of privacy in text messages transmitted on his SWAT pager, where the police department has an official no-privacy policy but a non-policymaking lieutenant announced an informal policy of allowing some personal use of the pagers.
2. Whether the Ninth Circuit contravened this Court’s Fourth Amendment precedents and created a circuit conflict by analyzing whether the police department could have used “less intrusive methods” of reviewing text messages transmitted by a SWAT team member on his SWAT pager.
3. Whether individuals who send text messages to a SWAT team member’s SWAT pager have a reasonable expectation that their messages will be free from review by the recipient’s government employer.
The petition for writ of certiorari can be viewed here, the brief in opposition here, and the reply brief here.
The Court also granted Robertson v. U.S. Ex Rel. Watson, No. 08-6261, and Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder, No. 09-60.
The Solicitor General was also invited to file a brief expressing the views of the United States in Thompson v. North American Stainless, 09-291.
The full order list is here.
Court Grants City of Ontario v. Quon and Two Others
Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted three cert petitions and called for the Solicitor General’s view on another. In City of Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332, the Court will determine whether government employers may monitor employees’ text messages transmitted with a government-issued pager.
The questions presented are:
1. Whether a SWAT team member has a reasonable expectation of privacy in text messages transmitted on his SWAT pager, where the police department has an official no-privacy policy but a non-policymaking lieutenant announced an informal policy of allowing some personal use of the pagers.
2. Whether the Ninth Circuit contravened this Court’s Fourth Amendment precedents and created a circuit conflict by analyzing whether the police department could have used “less intrusive methods” of reviewing text messages transmitted by a SWAT team member on his SWAT pager.
3. Whether individuals who send text messages to a SWAT team member’s SWAT pager have a reasonable expectation that their messages will be free from review by the recipient’s government employer.
The petition for writ of certiorari can be viewed here, the brief in opposition here, and the reply brief here.
The Court also granted Robertson v. U.S. Ex Rel. Watson, No. 08-6261, and Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder, No. 09-60.
The Solicitor General was also invited to file a brief expressing the views of the United States in Thompson v. North American Stainless, 09-291.
The full order list is here.