Captivating Oyez Cases

Just a short note to point out some great Supreme Court cases I’ve been listening to the past few weeks after I discovered the audio transcripts are all available online. Oyez has audio of most cases dating back all the way to the 1940s.

The oral argument audio from these is quickly becoming my main podcast to listen to. I never realized how engaging the technicalities of legal process can be, it makes me want to study law.

I have nothing particularly original to say about any of these cases that more competent constitutional commentators haven’t already said.

If you want to learn more about any of these cases I’ve been reading opinions and summaries on Casetext. I wish more court records were available online for free, they are extremely entertaining to read.

• United States v. Jones
  

  Did the warrantless use of a tracking device on Jones’s vehicle to monitor its movements on public streets violate Jones’ Fourth Amendment rights?
  

• Carpenter v. United States
  

  Does the warrantless search and seizure of cell phone records, which include the location and movements of cell phone users, violate the Fourth Amendment?
  

• United States v. Dunn
  

  Is a search warrant needed to peer into the open side of a barn that is located in a field on private property?
  

• Kastigar v. United States
  

  Kastigar cited his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination in refusing to testify before a grand jury, even though prosecutors had granted him immunity from the use of his testimony in subsequent criminal proceedings. He was found in contempt of court for failing to testify.
  

• Doe v. United States
  

  Does a court’s order that a citizen who has not yet been indicted by a grand jury must authorize the release of undisclosed foreign bank documents violate the Fifth Amendment?
  

• General Electric Co. v. Joiner
  

  Is the abuse of discretion standard the correct standard an appellate court should apply in reviewing a trial court’s decision to admit or exclude expert testimony?

• Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael
  

  Does a federal trial judge’s “gatekeeping” obligation, under the Federal Rules of Evidence, apply to testimony based on skill or experience as it does to testimony based on scientific knowledge?

• United States v. Knotts
  

  Does police planting and tracking of a radio transmitter violate the Fourth Amendment?

• United States v. Karo
  

  Does the installation of a tracking device into a container, with the permission of the original owner, constitute a seizure within the meaning of the 4th Amendment when the container is delivered to a buyer having no knowledge of the tracking device?

• Kyllo v. United States
  

  Does the use of a thermal-imaging device to detect relative amounts of heat emanating from a private home constitute an unconstitutional search in violation of the Fourth Amendment?

• Florida v. Riley
  

  Did the police officer violate the defendant’s reasonable expectation of privacy by observing his property from a helicopter with the naked eye?
  

• Collins v. Virgina
  

  Does the Fourth Amendment’s automobile exception permit a police officer without a warrant to enter private property in order to search a vehicle parked a few feet from the house?
  

• United States v. Hubbell
  

  Does the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination protect a witness from being compelled to disclose the existence of incriminating documents that the Government is unable to describe with reasonable particularity?
  

• Murray v. United States
  

  Does the Fourth Amendment require the suppression of evidence viewed in plain sight prior to an illegal entry that was later discovered in the course of a properly warranted search?
  

• Michigan v. Chesternut
  

  Does a police officer violate the Fourth Amendment’s protection against seizures when he pursues a citizen without an objective basis for suspecting him of criminal activity?
  

• Wilson v. Arkansas
  

  Does the Fourth Amendment’s reasonable search and seizure clause require police officers to knock and announce their presence before entering a private residence?

• Kentucky v. King
  

  Does the exclusionary rule, which forbids the use of illegally seized evidence except in emergency situations, apply when the emergency is created by lawful police actions?