Daily Gold Market Report

Overstepping Boundaries:
Court Finds FBI Violated Constitution in 2021 Vault Raid

(USAGOLD – 1/26/2024) Gold prices remain unchanged in early Friday trading, following a significant monthly U.S. inflation report that confirmed a decrease in inflation levels. Gold is trading at $2020.49, down 35 cents. Silver is trading at $22.81, down 10 cents. In 2021, the FBI’s seizure of contents from safe deposit boxes during a raid on a Beverly Hills vault was deemed unconstitutional by a federal appeals court reports The Epoch Times. The operation targeted U.S. Private Vaults, a business offering anonymous box rentals, on suspicions of criminal use. The warrant allowed opening boxes for inventory and owner identification, but the FBI’s actions exceeded this scope. Initial district court rulings favored the government, citing an inventory exception to the Fourth Amendment. However, the appeals court found this inapplicable, highlighting the FBI’s use of custom instructions and lack of probable cause for all boxes. The case was remanded for further action, including the destruction of records collected on the box renters involved in the class-action lawsuit. This ruling is significant in reinforcing constitutional limits on government searches.