N.Y.U. Proceedings

Exploring New Approaches to Unsettled Legal Questions

Tag: UCLA Cybersecurity Competition

Press to Unlock: How Biometric Phone Locks Endanger Fifth Amendment Rights and Individual Privacy

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On November 22, 2023

In Contributions

by Aaron Chow*

Today, nearly every individual carries at all times an extremely detailed account of their personal lives: the contents of their cell phone. Due to recent advances in biometric scanning technology, cell phones can now be unlocked with a mere touch of a finger. Federal courts are currently divided on whether law enforcement may compel these fingerprint scans in order to access the potentially incriminating contents of an accused’s cell phone. Because a vast majority of Fifth Amendment jurisprudence predates the advent of modern cell phones, it is ill-equipped to address the risk of self-incrimination and privacy violations that fingerprint locks create. This Contribution argues that federal courts must adapt historical precedent in order to prevent unconstrained cell phone searches and to safeguard Fifth Amendment rights.

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The Constitutionality of Policing Technology: Evaluating Network Investigative Techniques Under Fourth Amendment Search Doctrine

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On November 15, 2022

In Contributions

by Madison Gonzalez*

Courts review the constitutionality of digital surveillance technologies in criminal investigations under Fourth Amendment search doctrine. In order to constitute a search, a law enforcement practice must either violate an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy or constitute a physical trespass on private property. In this Contribution, Madison Gonzalez (’23) argues that the use of a Network Investigative Technique (“NIT”) to collect an Internet Protocol (“IP”) address directly from an individual’s computer is a Fourth Amendment search under either test.

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Preserving the Bivens Doctrine in the Fourth Amendment Context

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On October 4, 2022

In Contributions

by Tina LaRitz*

The Bivens doctrine allows plaintiffs who suffer constitutional violations at the hands of federal officers to claim monetary damages from federal courts, absent the statutory recognition of such a right. Recent jurisprudence has increasingly sought to limit this right in a show of judicial conservatism at the expense of deserving plaintiffs. This Contribution argues that the Bivens doctrine must be preserved broadly within the Fourth Amendment unreasonable search context.

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The Role of the Rule of Lenity and the Canon of Constitutional Avoidance in Interpreting the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

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On May 2, 2022

In Contributions

by Rachel Sang*

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), enacted in 1986, is a federal law that proscribes certain behavior involving unauthorized access to computers. Over time, a circuit split developed regarding the meaning of the CFAA’s “Access Provision.” The Supreme Court resolved this circuit split in its recent decision Van Buren v. United States. In this Contribution, Rachel Sang (’22) argues that although both the majority opinion and the dissent in Van Buren provide convincing textual interpretations of the statute, policy considerations, the rule of lenity, and constitutional concerns weigh in favor of the majority’s construction of the CFAA.

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