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CA7: Use of jackhammer to break up concrete for a search for a body was reasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The use of a jackhammer to conduct a search for a body under concrete was reasonable. There is no “least possible destructive means” standard for conducting the search. Johnson v. Manitowoc County, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 4648 (7th Cir. March 10, 2011) (unpublished): We begin with Johnson’s claim that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when the officers used a jackhammer in their effort to collect evidence in accordance with the search warrant. The Fourth Amendment guarantees that 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.” “The touchstone of Fourth Amendment inquiry is reasonableness, a standard measured in light of the totality of the circumstances and determined by balancing the degree to which a challenged action intrudes on an individual’s privacy and the degree to which the action promotes a legitimate government interest...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 14, 2011 (boomark / email).