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Comment by nonethewiser | Hacker News Reader

In practice yes. In theory, no way. What is the 4th amendment if not protection against spying without a warrant?

> The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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"parallel construction" and third-party doctrine are two loopholes wrt 4A.

Loopholes ultimately built upon government agents willingness to commit perjury when questioned about the truth.

The people who sign affidavits don't commit perjury, because the people who sign affidavits and those who lead parallel construction are at least two links apart. The way it happens like this: X tells Y to look out for A's vehicle on I-15. Y calls another agency to check on A's vehicle. Now another agent C from another agency leads the investigation. X is totally out of picture in these prosecutions.

They are not loopholes. They are convoluted processes designed to obscure their illegality, providing those who enable such a grotesque violation with plausible deniability and blame dispersion.

To what I imagine was everyone’s surprise, no one in the US really cares about 4a anymore. Nothing has changed since Snowden (in fact, the powers have managed to convince vast swaths that Snowden is the bad guy!), and it is pretty common knowledge that 4a is out the window with parallel construction and asset forfeiture…but it all still keeps churning.

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