ELR Citation: ELR 20004
No(s). 04-1626 (1st Cir. Dec 22, 2004)

The Fourth Circuit held that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspectors who took wastewater samples at a mill are entitled to qualified immunity. The owner of the mill had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the wastewater under the circumstances shown in the record and therefore had no Fourth Amendment right. Even if this were not the case, the existence of such a reasonable expectation was not clearly established law. Thus, the owner's claim that the inspectors violated its Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches was dismissed, and the lower court's ruling to the contrary was reversed.