Rodney C. Hanlon, Joel Scrafford, Kris A. Mclean, Richard C. Branzell, and Robert Prieksat v. Paul W. Berger et Ux. (526 U.S. 808)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 24, 1999 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 526 U.S. 808 · 119 S. Ct. 1706
- Decided
- May 24, 1999
- Term
- October Term 1998
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Per Curiam. Respondents Paul and Erma Berger sued petitioners— special agents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and an assistant United States attorney — for damages under Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388 (1971). They alleged that the conduct of petitioners had violated their rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 129 F. 3d 505 (CA9 1997). We granted certiorari, 525 U. S. 981 (1998). Respondents live on a 75,000-acre ranch near Jordan, Montana. In 1993, a Magistrate Judge issued a warrant authorizing the search of “The Paul W. Berger ranch with appurtenant structures, excluding the residence” for evidence of “the taking of wildlife in violation of Federal laws.” App. 17. About a week later, a multiple-vehicle caravan consisting of Government agents and a crew of photographers and reporters from Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN), proceeded to a point near the ranch. The agents executed the warrant and explained: “Over the course of the day, the officers searched the ranch and its outbuildings pursuant to the authority conferred by the search warrant. The CNN media crew . . . accompanied and observed the officers, and the media crew recorded the officers’ conduct in executing the warrant.” Brief for Petitioners 5. Review of the complaint’s much more detailed allegations to the same effect satisfies us that…
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