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Likelihood of housing inspection searches were speculative, so preliminary injunction denied

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A city rental housing inspection program was constitutional under the Fourth Amendment because there was a process for issuance of administrative warrants when the landlord would not consent. Stewart v. City of Red Wing, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35958 (D. Minn. May 1, 2008): Nor have plaintiffs demonstrated that injury to their Fourth Amendment rights is imminent. If landlords refuse consent to the City's request for an inspection, the RDLC requires the City to seek an administrative search warrant. The reviewing judge is specifically authorized to condition or limit the scope of the warrant as appropriate. Plaintiffs' argument that the inspection ordinance creates an imminent constitutional injury presumes that a state court judge, with the benefit of a full adversarial hearing, will be unable to condition or limit the scope of the warrant in a manner that complies with the Fourth Amendment...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 05, 2008 (boomark / email).