Supreme Court Rules Police Can't Force Hotel Owners To Give Up Registry Data Without A Warrant

Forbes

On Monday, the Supreme Court struck down a Los Angeles ordinance that required hotel owners to give the police access to hotel registries without a warrant. The case highlights a reoccurring tension between the need to protect people’s right to privacy while also giving law enforcement the tools it needs to pursue public safety.

In California v Patel, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 on Monday to uphold an appeals court ruling that an L.A. ordinance was a violation of hotel owners’ Fourth Amendment rights. This ordinance’s history stretches back more than 100 years. Put into effect in 1899, the ordinance allows police to search hotel registries without a warrant with the goal of cracking down on prostitution, gambling, and drug trafficking, particularly at low-cost hotels and motels. The city hoped criminals would be less likely to use hotels for illegal activity if they knew that the police could view those records at any time.

Hotel owners argued that the ordinance was a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. Those who refused to comply with police search requests could be charged with a criminal misdemeanor and face six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

In 2003, a group of hotel owners sued the city of Los Angeles, claiming that the ordinance was unconstitutional. In December 2013, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the hotel owners and ruled that the ordinance was indeed a privacy violation. The city appealed the decision, but with today’s ruling, the hotel owners have won their case.

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2015/06/22/supreme-court-rules-police-cannot-force-hotel-owners-to-give-up-registry-data-without-a-warrant/