Ninth Circuit strikes down seizure of BALCO names

The en banc Ninth Circuit today held that government investigators violated the Fourth Amendment when, during a raid on BALCO, they seized the names of 104 MLB players who tested positive for steroids, while acting on a warrant targeted at only ten players. (H/T: Jon Pessah).

The opinion is 63 pages long (I have not had a chance to read it yet); the majority is by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, one of the sharpest judicial minds on the federal bench and someone on the libertarian/conservative side. There are two partial concurrences/dissents and one full dissent. I would predict Supreme Court review, just because of the high-profile nature of the case.

Update:

Orin Kerr has a series of posts on the case at the Volokh Conspiracy. Orin knows the Fourth Amendment better than most people, so it is worth a read.

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