Cal.1: The state cannot be forced to issue a SW to gather evidence for the defense

The defense sought murder victims’ social media account content, and the trial court refused to quash a subpoena which was challenged under the Stored Communications Act. The materials by statute would have to be produced in camera. As an alternative to the subpoena, the state cannot be forced to issue a search warrant to gather evidence for the defense. Facebook, Inc. v. Superior Court (Hunter), 2020 Cal. App. LEXIS 191 (1st Dist. Feb. 13, 2020), ordered published Mar. 6, 2020).

An office’s surveillance DVR likely had video of the crime, but it was missing. When a DVR was seen in a car on the property, there was probable cause to search the car to retrieve it. Commonwealth v. Silvia, 97 Mass. App. Ct. 151 (Mar. 10, 2020).*

Seven months after alleged download wasn’t stale in a child pornography investigation. State v. Owens, 2020 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 176 (Mar. 9, 2020).* [Note: I don’t recall any case ever finding staleness when child porn is the subject of the warrant.]

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