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Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County v. Leach-Lewis

Location: Virginia
Court Type: Virginia Supreme Court
Last Update: February 20, 2024

What's at Stake

In this case, the Virginia Supreme Court is considering whether the U.S. Constitution and/or the Virginia Constitution require the exclusionary rule鈥攚hich protects people from unconstitutional searches and seizures鈥攖o apply in civil zoning enforcement actions. The Institute for Justice, along with The 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia and the Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project and the State Supreme Court Initiative at the 老澳门开奖结果, submitted an amicus brief arguing that the exclusionary rule should apply in civil actions to protect Virginians鈥 search and seizure rights.

The Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule protects the right of people to be secure in their home against unreasonable searches and seizures. While this rule is commonly applied in criminal cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has explained that whether the rule applies is primarily based on the need for deterrence, rather than on the 鈥渃ivil鈥 or 鈥渃riminal鈥 label of the proceeding.

In 2019, Fairfax County Police searched Ms. Leach-Lewis鈥檚 properties as a part of a criminal investigation. Unrelatedly, a Fairfax County zoning officer searched Ms. Leach-Lewis鈥檚 property without a warrant and issued her Notices of Violation for using her home as a church office. Ms. Leach-Lewis appealed these violation notices, arguing that the zoning officer鈥檚 search was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I of the Virginia Constitution. The Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County argued in opposition, claiming that the exclusionary rule cannot be applied to civil cases.

Attorneys at the Institute for Justice drafted an amicus brief with the help of the 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia arguing that The Fourth Amendment applies to this civil zoning enforcement action and, separately, that the Virginia Constitution requires a state exclusionary rule to apply in these cases. The brief argues that the exclusionary rule protects citizens鈥 liberty and privacy in their homes and that the adoption of this rule as a remedy for state constitutional search-and-seizure violations is consistent with case law across other jurisdictions.

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