American Bar Association Takes Stand on Privacy Rights and Border Searches

January 29, 2019

Leaders of the American Bar Association completed their midyear meeting yesterday and tackled a range of policy issues, including privacy at the border. The ABA adopted a new policy that "Urges the federal judiciary, Congress, and the Department of Homeland Security to enact legislation and adopt policies to protect the privacy interests of those crossing the border by imposing standards for searches and seizures of electronic devices, protection of attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine, and lawyer-client confidentiality." The resolution was introduced by the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice and the Criminal Justice Section. EPIC Senior Counsel Alan Butler is the Chair of the ABA Civil Rights and Social Justice Section's Committee on Privacy and Information Protection. EPIC has previously submitted "friend of the court" briefs advocating for Fourth Amendment protection of cell phone data in Riley v. California and Carpenter v. United States.

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