Questions in the Search and Seizure of Digital Evidence Are Ripe for Answers

Elkan Abramowitz and Barry A. Bohrer write in the New York Law Journal:

Uncertainty regarding the application of the Fourth Amendment to computers, e-mail, and other digitized information[FOOTNOTE 1]has a significant impact on those accused of white-collar crime because so much of the evidence in white-collar cases derives from those sources.[FOOTNOTE 2] This article examines recent decisions on the Fourth Amendment’s application to digital evidence, noting a number of open and controversial questions that seem ripe for adjudication by the U.S. Supreme Court. A recent decision from the Court indicates a reluctance to address such issues, however.