Third-Party Doctrine Principles and the Fourth Amendment: Challenges and Opportunities for First Responder Emergency Officials

Klaus Schmidt, Katrin C. Varner and Agrey D. Chenga
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Klaus Schmidt: College of Applied Science and Technology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA
Katrin C. Varner: College of Business, Illinois State University; Normal, IL 61761, USA
Agrey D. Chenga: College of Applied Science and Technology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA

Laws, 2020, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: The unresolved issues between the Fourth Amendment and the third-party doctrine provide first responders with challenges in their approach to meet the needs of any emergency they may be called for. A first responder needs to provide help quickly, and often this does not leave much time to think about the legal implications of some of their actions. With the rise of the Internet, the challenges of terrorism, and WikiLeaks, first responders are no longer sheltered from the legal implications that the use of information from online and other secondary sources may have. Specifically, privacy concerns may be raised when first responders use social media either as a tool to gather information about evolving emergencies, or to engage in the process of monitoring those media to detect potential threats to the safety of the country and its citizens. This paper will address some challenges first responders face when considering the third-party doctrine principles and the Fourth Amendment in their rescue efforts. What are some liability and legal concerns in the context of what first responders encounter when responding to potential threats? The paper will also include a discussion of practical experiences with the Fourth Amendment and third-party doctrine principles and explore liability issues related to first responders’ use of information.

Keywords: US constitutional law; criminal justice; constitutional law and criminology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D78 E61 E62 F13 F42 F68 K0 K1 K2 K3 K4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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