Neil Gorsuch

Neil Gorsuch Urges Supreme Court To Correct 2 Wrong Turns That Undermined Civil Liberties

The justice criticizes the Court’s endorsement of coercive plea bargaining and its embrace of dubious Fourth Amendment doctrines.

Jacob Sullum | 7.1.2026 12:01 AM

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Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that "an agreement not to appeal a sentence is unenforceable when it would result in a miscarriage of justice." This week, the Court held that a government-ordered analysis of cellphone location data qualifies as a "search" under the Fourth Amendment.

In both cases, Justice Neil Gorsuch agreed with the result but wrote separately to highlight deeper issues that the majority did not address: the Supreme Court's endorsement of coercive plea bargaining and its embrace of two dubious Fourth Amendment doctrines. Gorsuch's opinions, which criticize precedents that have undermined civil liberties, illustrate his talent for identifying wrong turns that his colleagues are not yet ready to acknowledge.

The first case involved Munson P. Hunter III, who was sentenced to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of aiding and abetting wire fraud. His sentence also included a requirement........

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