N.D.Cal.: SW for dead protected birds and records at house didn’t include searching the home security DVR

Defendant was a suspect in killing protected birds, and wildlife officers obtained a search warrant for his house seeking dead raptors, devices to capture or trap them, records, pictures, emails, documents, audio and video relating to firearms, and “[a]ny and all records relating to the take of raptors, including receipts, emails, shipping documents, personal correspondences, pictures, certificates, and other documents, video and, audio recordings relating to such raptors.” The warrant did not permit search and seizure of the contents of his home security system, and the good faith exception does not apply. United States v. Henderson, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151375 (N.D.Cal. Nov. 1, 2016) (USMJ R&R).

Note: If there is a home security video system, and one can buy them at, for example, Wal-Mart, Sam’s, and Office Depot for less than $250, the police will seize it and search it. I’ve seen this repeatedly in my practice, and the police seldom bother to get a separate warrant for the DVR. It is, essentially, a computer, and one cannot argue there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in it.

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