Larry Neumeister of AP reports on the decision in United States v. Galpin:
A federal appeals court warned Tuesday that authorities may have gone too far in their search of an ex-convict’s computer, saying the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures is irrelevant if every hard drive search is a green light to look at millions of files unrelated to a suspected crime.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan made the statement as it cast doubt on the legality of the investigation carried out against James R. Galpin Jr., a man serving nearly 48 years in prison in a child pornography case.
Read more on TribTown. I had previously linked to Orin Kerr’s discussion of the decision.