Law Commons^™

Machine Learning, Automated Suspicion Algorithms, And The Fourth Amendment, Michael L. Rich

Michael L Rich

At the conceptual intersection of machine learning and government data collection lie Automated Suspicion Algorithms, or ASAs, algorithms created through the application of machine learning methods to collections of government data with the purpose of identifying individuals likely to be engaged in criminal activity. The novel promise of ASAs is that they can identify data-supported correlations between innocent conduct and criminal activity and help police prevent crime. ASAs present a novel doctrinal challenge, as well, as they intrude on a step of the Fourth Amendment’s individualized suspicion analysis previously the sole province of human actors: the determination of when reasonable …

U.S. Government Counterterrorism Asset Freezes: Regulatory Seizures In A Digital Age Of Terrorism, Adam S. Wallwork

Adam S Wallwork

This Article addresses the question of when, if ever, the Department of the Treasury’s counterterrorism asset freezes against US persons (US citizens, resident aliens, and US-based organizations) violate the Fourth Amendment. It addresses two questions that currently divide the federal courts: (1) whether OFAC blocking orders are seizures subject to the Fourth Amendment and (2) whether the Fourth Amendment’s warrant and probable-cause requirements apply to OFAC counterterrorism blocking orders if these orders are in fact seizures.

My Originalist analysis of OFAC counterterrorism blocking orders draws on evidence of the Framers’ original understanding of “unreasonable . . . seizures,” including the …