A federal jury on Monday found Bexar County, Texas, liable for systematically violating thousands of Americans' Fourth Amendment rights for years through a criminal interdiction unit. The victory underscores that the Constitution requires searches to be reasonable and prohibits dragnet policing.
On March 16, 2022, Alek Schott was driving home from a work trip near San Antonio, Texas, when he was stopped by a Bexar County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) deputy for allegedly drifting lanes. But what should have been a quick stop turned into an hourlong, unconstitutional fishing expedition. Rather than simply writing a ticket, Deputy Joel Babb asked Schott to "step out and sit in [the police cruiser's] passenger seat while I do your warning," according to the complaint filed in federal court on behalf of Schott by the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm. Once in the police car, Babb began questioning Alek on a variety of topics, including where he worked, the purpose of his travel, and where he lived while he looked up Alek's criminal history.
