It is unclear whether photographing and fingerprinting during an investigation of suspicious activity is an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment, as the Court of Appeals noted in Johnson v. Vanderkooi, No. 330536. And that is why the lower court concluded that Grand Rapids police officers were immune from liability for doing so. You can find our blog post on that case here. But the Michigan Supreme Court has nevertheless scheduled oral argument on the question of whether Grand Rapids police officers have implemented such a policy or custom instituted by the defendant City of Grand Rapids. Johnson v. Vanderkooi, No. 156057. This most certainly means the MSC is also doubting the Court of Appeals' conclusion that such activity would probably not violate the Fourth Amendment.
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