Justice Alito: Red Flag Provisions ‘May Be Challenged Under the 4th Amendment’

In the opinion for the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Caniglia v. Strom, Associate Justice Samuel Alito noted red flag provisions “may be challenged under the Fourth Amendment.”

Breitbart News reported the SCOTUS ruling was a 9-0 decision that entering a house without a search warrant violates the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

Moreover, in the case in point, firearms were allegedly seized from the house which officers entered, and SCOTUS ruled against such a seizure.

The Court’s opinion was written by Justice Clarence Thomas.

Alito concurred with Thomas and noted the focus on the Fourth Amendment means challenges to red flag laws may come before SCOTUS.

Alito wrote:

This case also implicates another body of law that petitioner glossed over: the so-called “red flag” laws that some States are now enacting. These laws enable the police to seize guns pursuant to a court order to prevent their use for suicide or the infliction of harm on innocent persons. They typically specify the standard that must be met and the procedures that must be followed before firearms may be seized.

He observed, “Provisions of red flag laws may be challenged under the Fourth Amendment, and those cases may come before us.”

Giffords, a Gabby Giffords’ gun control group, reports that 19 states and Washington DC have red flag laws in the form of “extreme risk protection orders.”

The case is Caniglia v. Strom, No. 20-157 in the Supreme Court of the United States.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.