No. 25-1105

Frank Thompson v. Carl Wilson, Commissioner, Maine Department of Marine Resources

Lower Court: First Circuit
Docketed: 2026-03-23
Status: Pending
Type: Paid
Experienced Counsel
Tags: administrative-search fourth-amendment GPS-tracking reasonable-expectation-of-privacy trespass-doctrine warrantless-search
Latest Conference: N/A
Question Presented (from Petition)

Maine requires all federally-permitted lobstermen, including Petitioner Frank Thompson, to install a GPS tracker on their fishing boats and submit to 24/7 government surveillance as a condition of keeping their fishing license. The First Circuit held that the Fourth Amendment's administrative search doctrine authorizes Maine's trespass—even when lobstermen are not using their private fishing boats for commercial purposes. In doing so, it concluded, in conflict with the Sixth and Ninth Circuits, that Fourth Amendment trespassory protections under United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012), apply to criminal cases only, not to commercial cases.

The questions presented are:

1. Whether Maine's requirement that lobstermen place a GPS tracking device on their private fishing vessels and submit to 24/7 surveillance constitutes an unreasonable trespassory search in violation of the Fourth Amendment?

2. Whether courts must evaluate the reasonableness of a warrantless administrative search based on the Fourth Amendment's protections against government trespass, and not solely on a business owner's reasonable expectations of privacy?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether Maine's requirement that lobstermen install GPS tracking devices on private fishing vessels and submit to 24/7 government surveillance constitutes an unreasonable trespassory search in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and whether courts must evaluate the reasonableness of warrantless administrative searches based on Fourth Amendment trespass protections rather than solely on reasonable expectations of privacy

Docket Entries

2026-04-15
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 22, 2026.
2026-04-13
Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 22, 2026 to May 22, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
2026-03-19
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 22, 2026)
2025-12-22
Application (25A734) granted by Justice Jackson extending the time to file until March 19, 2026.
2025-12-18
Application (25A734) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from February 16, 2026 to March 19, 2026, submitted to Justice Jackson.

Attorneys

Carl Wilson, Commissioner Maine Department of Marine Resources
Valerie A. WilsonOffice of the Attorney General, Respondent
Frank Thompson
Mark MillerPacific Legal Foundation, Petitioner