FindLaw > Criminal Law Summaries > 1998 Index > Hanlon v. Berger

Case: Hanlon v. Berger

Issue: Whether the media may accompany and record the actions of law enforcement agents while the agents are executing a search warrant?

Facts: Federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant accompanied by photographers and reporters from Cable News Network, who recorded the agents in executing the warrant. Subsequently, the plaintiffs brought a Bivens claim against the law enforcement agents, asserting that the agents violated the Fourth Amendment when they allowed the media to accompany them in executing the warrant.

Holding: In a brief, per curiam opinion, the Court held that the plaintiffs can assert a Bivens claim. While a Bivens claim is cognizable under these circumstances, the law enforcement agents here are entitled to the defense of qualified immunity because this right was not clearly established in 1992 when the challenged conduct occurred.