Fourth Circuit Finds Fourth Amendment Violation For Phone Search, Rejects 'Good Faith'

Navy investigators get a warrant to seize—and only seize—a sailor's phone. They search it anyway and find the bad things, but the district court suppresses the evidence. On appeal, the prosecution pleads "good faith" reliance on a defective warrant. Fourth Circuit: The warrant wasn't defective. You just didn't follow it. The good faith exception "is not a panacea that can save the Government when all remaining facts and law fail." Bugger off. Dismissal affirmed.

The case is US v. Ray, No. 24-4024 (4th Cir. June 3, 2025).