Filed: Jul. 02, 2001
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
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1. Seizure of Computer Contents EHFDXVH WKH ODFN RI D SUHVHL]XUH KHDULQJ ULVNHG WKH
³DEULGJPHQW RI WKH ULJKW RI WKH SXEOLF LQ D IUHH VRFLHW\ WR
The warrant authorized the seizure of personal XQREVWUXFWHGFLUFXODWLRQRIQRQREVFHQHERRNV´$4XDQWLW\
communications related to the offense. Although there were RI&RSLHV86DW
presumably communications on the computers that did not
relate to the offenses, "[a] search does not become invalid 7KHUH LV QRW KRZHYHU DQ DEVROXWH ULJKW WR D SULRU
merely because some items not covered by a warrant are DGYHUVDULDOKHDULQJLQFDVHVZKHUHDOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDO
seized." United States v. Henson, 848 F.2d 1374, 1383 (6th LV VHL]HG WR SUHVHUYH HYLGHQFH LQ D FULPLQDO SURVHFXWLRQ
Cir. 1988). In Henson, a case affirming convictions involving +HOOHUY1HZId. at
1383-84; see also Davis v. Gracey,
111 F.3d 1472, 1481 (10th >L@IVXFKDVHL]XUHLVSXUVXDQWWRDZDUUDQWLVVXHGDIWHUD
Cir. 1997) (finding no Fourth Amendment violation when GHWHUPLQDWLRQRISUREDEOHFDXVHE\DQHXWUDOPDJLVWUDWH
defendants seized a bulletin board system computer that DQG IROORZLQJ WKH VHL]XUH D SURPSW MXGLFLDO
contained personal communications unrelated to the crime GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI WKH REVFHQLW\ LVVXH LQ DQ DGYHUVDU\
under investigation); United States v. Hay,
231 F.3d 630, 637- SURFHHGLQJLVDYDLODEOHDWWKHUHTXHVWRIDQ\LQWHUHVWHG
38 (9th Cir. 2000) (finding no Fourth Amendment violation SDUW\WKHVHL]XUHLVFRQVWLWXWLRQDOO\SHUPLVVLEOH
in the search and seizure of a computer system in a child ,G DW 7KH &RXUW HPSKDVL]HG WKDW 0DUFXV DQG $
pornography investigation); United States v. Upham,
168 F.3d 4XDQWLW\RI&RSLHV³FRQFHUQHGWKHVHL]XUHRIODUJHTXDQWLWLHV
532, 536 (1st Cir. 1999) (same). In the instant cases, when RIERRNVIRUWKHVROHSXUSRVHRIWKHLUGHVWUXFWLRQ´,GDW
the seizures occurred, defendants were unable to separate ³>:@KHUHDOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDOLVVHL]HGSXUVXDQWWRD
relevant files from unrelated files, so they took the computers ZDUUDQW WR SUHVHUYH WKH PDWHULDO DV HYLGHQFH LQ D FULPLQDO
to be able to sort out the documents off-site. Because of the SURVHFXWLRQ´ WKHUH LV QR DEVROXWH )LUVW RU )RXUWHHQWK
technical difficulties of conducting a computer search in a $PHQGPHQWULJKWWRDSULRUDGYHUVDU\KHDULQJ,GDW,Q
suspect’s home, the seizure of the computers, including their GLFWDWKH&RXUWZDUQHGWKDWLIWKHH[KLELWRUPDGHDVKRZLQJ
content, was reasonable in these cases to allow police to WRWKHWULDOFRXUWWKDWKHGLGQRWKDYHRWKHUFRSLHVRIWKHILOP
locate the offending files. DYDLODEOH ³WKH FRXUW VKRXOG SHUPLW WKH VHL]HG ILOP WR EH
FRSLHGVRWKDWVKRZLQJFDQEHFRQWLQXHGSHQGLQJDMXGLFLDO
2. E-mail Search GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI WKH REVFHQLW\ LVVXH LQ DQ DGYHUVDU\
SURFHHGLQJ2WKHUZLVHWKHILOPPXVWEHUHWXUQHG´,GDW
Plaintiffs also allege that defendants read their e-mail, an IRRWQRWHVRPLWWHG
allegation defendants deny. Plaintiffs rely for evidence on the
following. A plaintiff testified as an expert witness that ,QWKHLQVWDQWFDVHV5(&,WRRNWKHFRPSXWHUVWRHVWDEOLVK
certain log records were missing from the Guest CCC BBS HYLGHQFHRIFULPLQDOYLRODWLRQVDVLQ+HOOHU7KH\RSHUDWHG
computers when the computers were returned; these logs ZLWKDZDUUDQWDQGDSULRUGHWHUPLQDWLRQRIREVFHQLW\E\D
normally keep a record of the use of the computer, and the PDJLVWUDWH XQOLNH WKH 0DUFXV FDVH 7KHUH ZDV QR PDVV
*XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO 1RV 1RV *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO
F. Qualified Immunity expert testified that defendants must have deleted the log files
or prevented them from generating. The Guest plaintiffs also
According to plaintiffs, "Defendants Leis, Hamilton County refer to a paper printout of the computer directories, which
Sheriff’s Department and RECI cannot assert qualified showed defendants’ check marks next to several directory
immunity" as "political subdivisions." Guest Br. at 46. names, including a directory labeled "e-mail."
Qualified immunity may be asserted by government officials
sued in their individual capacity. Harlow, 457 U.S. at 807. The printout and absence of log files are not evidence that
As the district court granted qualified immunity only to the the defendants read private communications. Plaintiffs are
individual defendants, plaintiffs’ objections about immunity essentially relying on an assumption that because defendants
for the sheriff’s department and RECI are unfounded. Sheriff could have read e-mail, there is evidence that they did read e-
Leis was sued in his individual capacity (as well as in his mail. Defendants may legitimately have checked to see that
official capacity), so he may properly assert the defense in his the contents of the directories corresponded to the labels
individual capacity. Because we have concluded that there placed on the directories. Suspects would otherwise be able
were no Fourth Amendment violations, the individual to shield evidence from a search simply by "misfiling" it in a
defendants are all entitled to qualified immunity on the Fourth directory labeled "e-mail." In the Guest case, defendants had
Amendment claims asserted against them in their individual a list of file names and thus could conduct their search by
capacities. reviewing the file names in a directory, without actually
opening the files and viewing the contents. While we
,,,)LUVW$PHQGPHQW construe the facts on summary judgment in the light most
favorable to the nonmoving party, "[t]he mere existence of a
3ODLQWLIIV DOOHJH WKDW WKH GHIHQGDQWV YLRODWHG WKHLU )LUVW scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff’s position will
$PHQGPHQWULJKWVE\VHL]LQJDQGVKXWWLQJGRZQWKHEXOOHWLQ be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury
ERDUG V\VWHPV WKXV HIIHFWLQJ D SULRU UHVWUDLQW RQ VSHHFK could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Mitchell v. Toledo
7KH\UHO\RQWZR6XSUHPH&RXUWFDVHVZKLFKHVWDEOLVKHGD Hosp., 964 F.2d 577, 581 (6th Cir. 1992) (quoting Anderson
JHQHUDO UXOH WKDW SROLFH FDQQRW PDNH PDVV VHL]XUHV RI v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
477 U.S. 242, 252 (1986)). Plaintiffs’
DOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDOZLWKRXWDSULRUDGYHUVDULDOMXGLFLDO assumptions are insufficient to establish a genuine issue of
GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI REVFHQLW\ 6HH $ 4XDQWLW\ RI &RSLHV RI fact regarding an e-mail search.
%RRNV Y .DQVDV 86 0DUFXV Y 6HDUFK
:DUUDQWV 86 ,Q $ 4XDQWLW\ RI &RSLHV 3. Search of Subscriber Information
SROLFHVHL]HGFRSLHVRIQRYHOVDIWHUH[SDUWHMXGLFLDO
H[DPLQDWLRQ RI VHYHQ RI WKH DOOHJHGO\ REVFHQH ERRNV $ Plaintiffs argue that defendants violated the Fourth
4XDQWLW\RI&RSLHV86DW ,Q0DUFXVSROLFH Amendment by accessing bulletin board subscriber
VHL]HG DSSUR[LPDWHO\ FRSLHV RI SXEOLFDWLRQV information. These records include information such as
ZLWKRXWDSULRUMXGLFLDOGHWHUPLQDWLRQRIREVFHQLW\0DUFXV subscribers’ names, addresses, birthdates, and passwords. As
86DW6XFKVHL]XUHVYLRODWHGWKH)LUVW$PHQGPHQW we have noted above, a person must have a reasonable
expectation of privacy in the matter searched in order to
challenge a search under the Fourth Amendment. Individuals
3ODLQWLIIV DUJXH WKDW GHIHQGDQWV DUH QRW HQWLWOHG WR TXDOLILHG generally lose a reasonable expectation of privacy in their
LPPXQLW\ EHFDXVH WKH RIILFHUV GLG QRW IROORZ WKH DGYLFH RI WKH SURVHFXWRUV
information once they reveal it to third parties. See United
ZKR UHYLHZHG WKH ZDUUDQW 6LQFH ZH KDYH IRXQG QR FRQVWLWXWLRQDO
YLRODWLRQ WKH DGYLFH RI WKH SURVHFXWRUV LV LUUHOHYDQW WR RXU GHFLVLRQ
States v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435, 443 (1976), limited by statute.
*XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO 1RV 1RV *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO
A bank customer, for instance, does not have a legitimate D. Particularity
expectation of privacy in the information that he or she has
conveyed to the bank; by placing the information under Plaintiffs argue that the warrant failed to describe with
control of a third party, the customer assumes the risk that the sufficient particularity the things to be seized. They seem to
bank will convey the information to the government. Id. base this argument on the warrant’s failure to particularly
Courts have applied this principle to computer searches and identify communications or subscriber information. A search
seizures to conclude that computer users do not have a warrant must particularly describe the things to be seized, but
legitimate expectation of privacy in their subscriber the description, whose specificity will vary with the
information because they have conveyed it to another circumstances of the case, will be "valid if it is as specific as
personthe system operator. See
Maxwell, 45 M.J. at 418; the circumstances and the nature of the activity under
United States v. Kennedy,
81 F. Supp. 2d 1103, 1110 (D. Kan. investigation permit."
Henson, 848 F.2d at 1383 (quoting
2000) (rejecting a privacy interest in subscriber information United States v. Blum,
753 F.2d 999, 1001 (11th Cir. 1985)).
communicated to an internet service provider); United States
v. Hambrick, No. 99-4793,
2000 WL 1062039, at *4 (4th Cir. In the instant cases, the warrants required that the
Aug. 3, 2000) (unpublished) (holding that defendant communications and computer records pertain to the listed
destroyed any privacy interest in his subscriber information offenses. Defendants could not have obtained more specific
when he conveyed it to an internet service provider) (citing identification of e-mails and subscriber data, which were not
Miller, 425 U.S. at 442). We conclude that plaintiffs in these accessible to them. The description was thus particular
cases lack a Fourth Amendment privacy interest in their enough as the circumstances permitted for these items.
subscriber information because they communicated it to the Moreover, since plaintiffs have not established that their
systems operators. In addition, in the O’Brien case, communications were searched, there would be no harm from
subscriber information would be that of the users, who do not an alleged defect in the warrant regarding any of the
have Fourth Amendment standing. communications.
4. Software Search E. Probable Cause
Plaintiffs also assert that defendants exceeded the scope of Plaintiffs assert that the warrants did not state "probable
the warrant when they searched for unlicenced software. The cause to believe that the Plaintiffs’ public and private
only individual with a privacy interest in the software would communications, and their subscriber information, was
be the person possessing the software, i.e., the computer’s evidence of a crime." Guest Brief at 43. Plaintiffs do not
owner or the system operator. In the Guest case, the owner dispute in their briefs that defendants had probable cause to
and bulletin board operator, Robert Emerson, is not a party to search for evidence of crimes on the computers. As we have
the case. In the O’Brien case, although the owner and already determined, the difficulty of locating and extracting
operator are parties, the warrant listed the offense of these images meant that a seizure of the whole computer
"possession of unlicenced property," so the search for system was not unreasonable, so long as there was probable
unlicenced software in that case was clearly authorized by the cause to conclude that evidence of a crime would be found on
warrant. the computer. An analysis of probable cause to search the
materials is unnecessary since plaintiffs have failed to
establish that their communications were searched, and they
lack a privacy interest in their subscriber information.
