He's not a state actor, he's the goddam Batman!
December 2nd, 2010
In comfortably the geekiest post I've read today, Law and the Multiverse poses the question: Is Batman a State Actor?
Constitutional limitations on things like censorship, discrimination, and search and seizure do not apply to private individuals but rather to the federal government and, in some cases, to the states. [...] As a result, evidence that a superhero obtains by breaking into a villain's headquarters is admissible even though it was obtained illegally. See, Burdeau v. McDowell, 256 U.S. 465 (1921). And since it doesn't invoke the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, any additional evidence obtained via the original evidence would also be admissible.
But what about superheroes like Batman who work in close cooperation with the police? Could they fairly be described as state actors, thus triggering a whole spate of Constitutional protections? I think the answer may be yes. [...]
Other posts at the site include Federalism and the Keene Act, The Multiverse and Res Judicata and Law and the Zombie Apocalypse. How can I possibly resist?
[Via The Browser]
