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Appeals Court Affirms Warrantless Computer Searches

Posted by Soulskill on from the those-amendment-things-are-optional dept.

suraj.sun writes with this excerpt from ComputerWorld: "Laptop computers and other digital devices carried into the US may be seized from travelers without a warrant and sent to a secondary site for forensic inspection, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled last week. The ruling is the second in less than a year that allows the US government to conduct warrantless, offsite searches of digital devices seized at the country's borders. A federal court in Michigan last May issued a similar ruling in a case challenging the constitutionality of the warrantless seizure of a computer at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Several other courts, including the Ninth Circuit itself, have ruled that warrantless, suspicion-less searches of laptops and other digital devices can take place at US border locations."

2 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"Suspicion-less searches" comes in handy by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you read TFA, the guy was a REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER in California according to TSA records. That gave them reason to believe he may have had contraband files on his PC, especially after they found many files were encrypted (another red flag). This wasn't some joe-blow they picked at random.

    I believe TFA makes it pretty clear that "the border search doctrine allows such actions even without reasonable suspicion or cause".

    So, the ruling says that despite the fact that "this wasn't some joe-blow they picked at random", it could be ... and it would be equally valid.

    Don't try to kid yourself that only when they have some suspicion or information ... it upholds the notion of suspicion-less searches. Meaning, anyone, any time, for no reason and without justification.

    Look past the fact that this particular guy was a sex offender ... the ruling does. The scope of this is far broader than just that.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  2. That's not the good link! by way2trivial · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is the one to ram the point home!
    http://www.aclu.org/constitution-free-zone-map

    live in the orange? then this story applies to you!

    they can search whatever the hell they want if you live there.

    no warrant

    no recourse

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    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random