D.C. Must Face Fourth Amendment Claims Over Unreturned Phones

Black Lives Matter demonstrators and two journalists persuaded the D.C. Circuit Friday that they can bring Fourth Amendment claims against police officers who allegedly didn’t return their phones after arresting them at a 2020 protest.

“This case presents the question whether the Fourth Amendment requires that any continued retention of such personal property—even after release of the arrested individuals—must also be reasonable,” Gregory G. Katsas wrote for the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “We hold that it does.”

The decision, reversing lower court dismissals of two suits, creates a circuit split. Five other federal appeals courts ...