Flying Pig Moment, Legal Department...

The Ninth Circuit Appeals Court, justifiably notorious for its progressive-leaning rulings, must have missed its meds: they've just ruled that agents at border crossings cannot search digital devices (such as phones, laptops, etc.) for no reason at all.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been asserting its right to do just that, leading many organizations to counsel that travelers not carry these devices with them.  DHS has also cited, numerous times, that the mere existence of an encrypted file is suspicious – a plainly absurd assertion in this day and age.

Someone please hide those meds!  This kind of Ninth Circuit I could learn to admire!

Flying Pig Moment...

This was certainly unexpected: the Ninth Circuit court has overturned the 2003 District Court ruling that San Diego had violated the constitution (both state and federal) by leasing land in Balboa Park to the Boy Scouts of America.  I say “unexpected” because the Ninth Circuit is by far the most liberal of the Circuit courts, and routinely issues opinions that (a) comport with progressive viewpoints, and (b) get reviewed and overturned by the Supreme Court (chart at right courtesy of the invaluable SCOTUSBlog's 2011 “stat pack”).  Out of the blue, contrary to their usual progressive position support, nearly 10 years after the original ruling, the Ninth Circuit reverses this.  A nice gift for the Boy Scouts!