Supreme Court of the United States
John D. Ashcroft v. Abdullah Al-Kidd — Sotomayor, J., Concurring
May 31, 2011179 L. Ed. 2d 1149
Summary
Justice Sotomayor concurred in the judgment reversing the Court of Appeals because Ashcroft did not violate clearly established law, but she criticized the majority for unnecessarily resolving a novel Fourth Amendment question regarding pretextual use of material witness warrants. Justice Kennedy concurred fully while Justice Ginsburg concurred in the judgment but joined Sotomayor in objecting to the Court's disposition of the Fourth Amendment claim on the merits.