Trading Fourth Amendment Rights for Welfare?
September 19, 2006
This opinion seems very intriguing. I'll blog more once I've read it. Here's the intro:
Plaintiffs-Appellants in this class action (“Appellants”), San Diego County welfare recipients, appeal from the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants, County of San Diego and various county officials (collectively, “San Diego County” or the “County”). Appellants contend that the district court erred in concluding that the County’s welfare eligibility program (“Project 100%”), which requires all welfare applicants to consent to a warrantless home visit as a condition of eligibility, does not violate their rights under the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, or California welfare regulations prohibiting mass and indiscriminate home visits. Our jurisdiction is pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We hold that San Diego County’s Project 100% does not violate the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, or California welfare regulations. We therefore affirm the district court.