Fort Bend Independent School District v. Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas

The Fourth Amendment protects “the right of the people to be secure in their . . . papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” U.S. Const., amend. IV. A federal statute likewise prohibits the “transfer” or “receipt” of “confidential phone records,” including call logs. 18 U.S.C. § 1039(b), (c). Despite these authorities, a lower court required a governmental body to acquire and disclose its employees’ personal cell phone call logs in response to a public records request, under Tex. Gov’t Code § 552.002(a), even though the government cannot ascertain the public or private nature of the logs. App. 7a–15a. The question presented is: Does compelled disclosure of public employees’ personal cell phone call logs under state law violate federal law when the government (1) does not own the logs or otherwise have a right to transfer the logs, and (2) cannot segregate the information into public and private content?