Professor Bentley quoted in Minnesota Lawyer on State of Minnesota v. Amber Kay Barrow

Professor Elizabeth Bentley was quoted in Minnesota Lawyer discussing the case, State of Minnesota v. Amber Kay Barrow, in which the Minnesota Supreme Court held that a search of a woman's purse in a car was lawful under the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. Professor Bentley and Minnesota Law's Civil Rights Appellate Clinic represented the ACLU and the ACLU of Minnesota as amici curiae in the case. The amicus brief argued that the search was unconstitutional under the Minnesota Constitution and, although the Court did not reach that issue in this case, at least some Justices on the Court seem open to considering that question in the future. ”A concurrence by Justice [Margaret] Chutich, joined by Justice [Paul] Thissen, explained how the Minnesota Constitution at times offers broader protection than the Fourth Amendment, and the concurrence expressed a hesitancy — as a matter of state constitutional law — to expand the automobile exception to the warrant requirement to these circumstances, especially given the personal nature of a purse,” Bentley said.