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Ross Ulbricht's Lawyer Requests Suppression Of Silk Road Evidence
Despite a failed attempt to have charges dismissed, the alleged Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht's lawyer has filed a new motion to have evidence dismissed, citing recent court rulings in an argument that the Silk Road related searches were overly broad. From the article:
Dratel [Ulbricht's lawyer] argues in his 102-page motion filed last Friday that "the government conducted a series of 14 searches and seizures of various physical devices containing electronically stored information ('ESI'), and of ESI itself from Internet providers and other sources. Some of the ESI was obtained via search warrant, but other ESI was obtained via court order, and still other ESI was obtained without benefit of any warrant at all." ...
The defense lawyer argues that even the searches for which the government had a warrant were overbroad and based on evidence that may have been obtained illegally. The attorney writes: " As set forth ante, all of the searches and seizures conducted pursuant to warrants and/or orders were based on the initial ability of the government to locate the Silk Road Servers, obtain the ESI on them, and perform extensive forensic analysis of that ESI. Thus, all subsequent searches and seizures are invalid if that initial locating the Silk Road Servers, obtaining their ESI, and gaining real-time continued access to those servers, was accomplished unlawfully."
The defense lawyer argues that even the searches for which the government had a warrant were overbroad and based on evidence that may have been obtained illegally. The attorney writes: " As set forth ante, all of the searches and seizures conducted pursuant to warrants and/or orders were based on the initial ability of the government to locate the Silk Road Servers, obtain the ESI on them, and perform extensive forensic analysis of that ESI. Thus, all subsequent searches and seizures are invalid if that initial locating the Silk Road Servers, obtaining their ESI, and gaining real-time continued access to those servers, was accomplished unlawfully."
Based on the indictments it's hard to know how he was found. The indictment certainly gives a plausible explanation for how it happened - he was sloppy about linkage of his personal and alter-ego accounts online, but as noted in the articles, there are certain gaps and inconsistencies in the story and parts of it may have been filled out retroactively (the notorious "parallel construction"). Apparently what his lawyer is hoping, is that they get a judge who feels like putting the FBI in their place with respect to such issues, and it turns out that they found the Silk Road servers via some NSA related trickery then worked backwards to find Ulbricht, then worked out a plausible but untrue alternative explanation for how he was located. Such a thing if found to have happened could plausibly throw a spanner in the entire prosecution.
However, it seems a long shot.
It's worth noting that it was the DEA who gave 'parallel construction' its notoriety (check out the delightful lesson plan!). I would not want to be the guy whose continued freedom depends on finding a court willing to poke the issue, much less for The Notorious Silk Road Internet Drugs Kingpin; but it certainly seems like a case where the matter would be very likely to come up.
If a court did throw out all the evidence, and as a result they had to return all the Sold Bitcoin?
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
The fact that you think "opponent of government abuse" equals "proponent of Silk Road" speaks volumes. You are the dangerous kind of citizen, who, unable to distinguish between the two, enables the "Think of the Children" approach to rights erosion.
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun