Fifth Circuit Cell-Site Case: The Second Article III Problem With Magistrate Decisions at the Application Stage

Orin Kerr writes:

I wanted to add another post to my series on the Fifth Circuit’s upcoming cell-site case, which raises the issue of whether magistrate judges have the power to decide prospectively how the Fourth Amendment might apply to executing a court order at the time the government applies for the order — and to deny the application if the judge believes that the court order will be implemented in a unconstitutional way.