Constitutional Law, Law Professors, Law Schools

Get Off My Lawn -- By The Power Of The Fourth Amendment

Two law school professors and their clever constitutional-law project.

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It’s late September, the presidential election is just a few weeks away, and suburban residents know what that means. ‘Tis the season — for lawn signs!

Most lawn signs voice the homeowner’s support for one candidate or another. But a new type of lawn sign is far more practical — and could help you protect your constitutional rights.

I recently heard from a law school friend of mine, Professor Stephen E. Henderson of the University of Oklahoma College of Law, about a fun new project of his:

With a friend from D.C., I’ve put together a humorous but also legally serious project of Fourth Amendment LAWn Signs.  You can find the law review article here), the public education component here, and a Tenth Circuit opinion making this a real issue here.

So what is a Fourth Amendment LAWn sign? A picture is worth a thousand words:

Fourth Amendment Lawn Signs

As Professor Henderson and his partner in this venture, Professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson of UDC Law, explain over at Fourth Amendment Security:

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Fourth Amendment Security is a public education project designed to encourage citizens to learn about their Fourth Amendment rights….

Seeing an opening for constitutional clarity (and a bit of good humor), we pounced and created the first constitutional lawn signs project.  Our argument—simply put—is that individuals can protect themselves against police intrusion by denying police officers “license” to search homes, cars, computers, and other possessions, and in the process educate themselves and their neighbors about Fourth Amendment rights.  How?  Through clear signs—or, as we have coined them, “LAWn Signs”—articulating constitutional preferences.

By placing a LAWn Sign in your front yard, you make a claim of explicit denial of license against police entering your property.  More importantly, you make a public statement about the importance of the Fourth Amendment.

Our goal is to cover the lawns of America with statements about Fourth Amendment security.

A neat idea. Perhaps the Tenth Circuit case of United States v. Carloss would have turned out differently, or the Supreme Court case of Florida v. Jardines would have been easier to decide, if the residents had posted such signs.

So if this highly charged presidential race has you reluctant to post either a Clinton or Trump lawn sign, consider a Fourth Amendment LAWn sign instead.

Fourth Amendment Security [official website]
Law profs create 4th Amendment warning signs for lawns [ABA Journal]

(Flip to the next page to read Fourth Amendment Security’s press release.)

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David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.

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