City of Los Angeles v. Patel

Supreme Court of the United States · 2015 · Criminal Law

Criminal LawFourth AmendmentAdministrative SearchesFacial Challengesfacial challengeFourth Amendmentwarrantless searchadministrative search

Facts

Los Angeles Municipal Code §41.49 requires hotel operators to collect and keep specified guest information, including identifying and payment-related information, on the hotel premises for 90 days. Section 41.49(3)(a), the provision at issue, requires those records to be made available to any Los Angeles police officer for inspection on demand. Refusal to make the records available is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The parties stipulated that respondents had been subjected to mandatory inspections under the ordinance without consent or a warrant.

Issue

Whether facial challenges may be brought under the Fourth Amendment, and if so, whether Los Angeles Municipal Code §41.49(3)(a) is facially unconstitutional because it requires hotel operators to turn over guest registries to police on demand without any opportunity for precompliance review.

Rule

Facial challenges are available under the Fourth Amendment. When a statute authorizes warrantless administrative searches, the subject of the search must, absent consent, exigent circumstances, or another applicable exception, be afforded an opportunity to obtain precompliance review before a neutral decisionmaker; in a facial challenge, courts focus on searches the statute actually authorizes, not situations where a search would be valid regardless of the statute because of consent, a warrant, or exigency.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

Seattle enacts an ordinance requiring self-storage facilities to keep renter access logs for 60 days and to produce them to any city police officer immediately on demand. Refusal is punishable by a misdemeanor, and the ordinance provides no mechanism to object before penalties attach. A trade association sues before any particular inspection is litigated.

What is the strongest argument that the association may bring a facial Fourth Amendment challenge?

Explanation. The majority held that facial challenges are not categorically barred or specially disfavored under the Fourth Amendment. In evaluating such a challenge, a court focuses on applications in which the statute actually authorizes the search, not situations where a search would be valid anyway because of consent, exigency, or a warrant.