https://www.cato.org/blog/may-15th-supreme-court-will-finall...
Sample:
Jessop v. City of Fresno. In this case, the Ninth Circuit granted immunity to police officers who stole over $225,000 in cash and rare coins in the course of executing a search warrant. The court noted that while “the theft [of] personal property by police officers sworn to uphold the law” may be “morally wrong,” the officers could not be sued for the theft because the Ninth Circuit had never issued a decision specifically involving the question of “whether the theft of property covered by the terms of a search warrant, and seized pursuant to that warrant, violates the Fourth Amendment.”
Edit: I will just reply to all of the comments downthread at once because they all seem to urge the same thing. SCOTUS has no incentive to act when the legislative branch is doing something that could easily overturn or not align with their decision, which would render their decision moot. A law that Congress passes overrules any and all SCOTUS precedent on the issue because Congress "legislates against the backdrop of the common law." Further, Congress has the ability to move much faster than SCOTUS: a bill could be passed on less than a month in Congress while it will take at least a year for SCOTUS to reach a decision.
That is specifically and only in the hands of the court, unless you want to amend the constitution.
>Congress is the ONLY branch of the government which gets to shape the boundaries of constitutional law.
Yeah, no. Not even close. Are you familiar with Miranda, Brown v. Board, Obergefell and dozens or hundreds of others? These are all the supreme court shaping the boundaries of constitutional law. Congress has zero power to intefere here. If Congress passed a law trying to outlaw gay marriage tomorrow, it would be unconstitutional and unenforceable immediately.
You say it yourself in your second paragraph: Congress has plenary power to shape the boundaries of constitutional law via amendments.
No, I didn't say that. Congress does not have "plenary power" (not a single actor in US government has plenary power). Constitutional amendments require approval by states, so if you think I was saying congress had plenary power over anything, you misread.
>he judiciary only has power when the legislature has not spoken, and that power should, theoretically, be constrained to mapping the smallest contours of the constitution because delineating the shape of the boundary is Congress's domain (some would say it is their most important duty, which they have neglected for the past half century).
Not true at all. The Supreme Court can rule any legislative act of congress unconstitutional. Congress can make whatever law it wants and Scotus can say "nope". I love that someone who doesn't know about Marbury v. Madison is attempting to lecture me on constitutional law.
The Supreme Court cannot rule an amendment unconstitutional.
Well, duh. If Constitution is ammended, the new stuff can’t be “unconstitutional” because it’s literally part of the Constitution.
Besides, you’re the one nitpicking. Sure, the Supreme Court can’t change the Constitution, but their job is to interpret it. The First and Fifth Amendment don’t make any mention of technology, but the Supreme Court has ruled that those protections apply to technological speech and searches.
Your sarcastic comment is exactly my point. If Congress has the power to make something literally part of the Constitution then they literally have the power to shape the boundaries of constitutional law because they literally have the power to rewrite the Constitution. And if Congress is the only entity with that power then their power is plenary. Which is to say that the power to shape the boundaries of constitutional law is not something that is specifically and only in the hands of the Court.
Ex falso quodlibet. Congressional action is not sufficient to alter the Constitution.