Supreme Court Includes Video Tape in Its Opinion; Creates New 4th Amendment Rule.
The U.S. Supreme Court took a giant leap into the 21st century today, issuing an opinion which included a citation to a URL, located on the court’ own website, where a video tape of the car chase in question in the opinion can be viewed in a RealPlayer video file.
The 8-1 decision in Scott v. Harris, authored by Justice Scalia, notes that ordinarily in an appeal of the grant of summary judgment, the Court would accept the Plaintiff’s version of events. However, the existence of the video eliminated he factual dispute, and the court makes he video available to prove it. Justice Breyer, in his concurring opinion, states, "[b]ecause watching the video footage of the car chase made a difference to my own view of the case, I suggest that the interested reader take advantage of the link in the Court's opinion . . . and watch it."
Oh - and the opinion also includes this straightforward rule: "A police officer's attempt to terminate a dangerous high-speed car chase that threatens the lives of innocent bystanders does not violate the Fourth Amendment, even when it places the fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death."
