Amicus Briefs
Spirit AeroSystems v. Paxton
CASE SUMMARY
NCLA urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold a district court ruling that Texas’s “Right to Examine” statute is unconstitutional. This statute authorizes the Texas Attorney General to force any company operating in the state to turn over its business records or face criminal penalties and forfeit its right to do business there.
The “Right to Examine” statute is a general warrant because it enables the Attorney General to demand access to any business record of a company active in the state that he deems “necessary,” without any stated reason required. The Attorney General does not have to specify which records he seeks to access nor secure a court’s advance approval. Nothing in the statute prevents the Attorney General from perusing company records out of simple curiosity. This statute violates the protections against unreasonable searches enshrined by the Fourth Amendment specifically to prohibit general warrants in the United States. Warrants must be obtained from neutral magistrates prior to search; they must describe the object of the search and place(s) to be searched; the prosecutor must provide the magistrate a justifiable reason for conducting the search; and he must swear an oath in support of those facts. Adhering to these limits protects citizens and companies from searches at the executive’s unfettered discretion.