Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch
Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty

If you’re planning on borrowing your buddy’s rental car and loading it up with several dozen bricks of heroin, the Supreme Court gave you good news on Monday. In Byrd v. United States, a unanimous Court held that someone who isn’t listed as an “authorized driver” of a rental car may still have Fourth Amendment rights if they are pulled over by the cops while driving it.

Yet, while the decision in Byrd was unanimous, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a brief concurring opinion that, if embraced by a majority of the Court, could throw federal law enforcement into chaos. Thomas’ opinion, which was joined by Neil Gorsuch, suggests a wholesale rewrite of the Supreme Court’s decisions governing when police are allowed to intrude on a suspect’s privacy.

Reasonable expectations

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority […]