ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20154
No(s). 25-1007 (1st Cir. Nov 18, 2025)

The First Circuit affirmed a district court's dismissal of a challenge to a Maine rule that requires all lobstermen in the state to install electronic tracking devices on their vessels and share their location data whenever those vessels are in the water. A group of fishermen challenged the rule, seeking to enjoin it and have it declared unconstitutional per the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures. The district court held the fishermen failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and dismissed the suit, but encouraged them to appeal their challenge to the First Circuit for an authoritative ruling. The appellate court found the rule, as an administrative search of a closely regulated industry, was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, and affirmed dismissal.