Dan Goodin reports: A federal judge has thrown out key evidence in a child pornography trial because the laptop alleged to contain more than 1,000 illegal images wasn’t searched until about five months after US customs officials seized it at a US border crossing. The ruling by US District Judge Jeffrey S. White of the…
Category: U.S.
More on vehicle “black boxes”–applying the “Big Brother” standard under the Fourth Amendment
Over on FourthAmendment.com, John Wesley Hall, Jr. has a commentary on the use of automotive “black boxes” and under what conditions the government can use them as evidence. The commentary seems inspired by a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposal to require black boxes in all cars. John writes, in part: What about the privacy…
Oregon Supreme Court ruling generates concerns over privacy rights
Rachel Cheeseman reports: The Oregon State Supreme Court ruled that a warrantless search by police officers of two bags left in a hotel room did not violate the privacy rights of Sheena Brown under the Oregon or the United States Constitutions. Deputy public defender, Dave Ferry, defended Brown in the case arguing that the evidence…
U.S. lawmakers target pre-paid cellphone anonymity
AFP reports: U.S. lawmakers unveiled a bill Wednesday to enable law enforcement to identify users of pre-paid cell phones, charging that anonymity makes the devices attractive to terrorists, drug kingpins and gangs. The legislation would require buyers of pre-paid cell phones to show identification when they purchase them and mandate that telephone companies keep the…