{"id":6671,"date":"2012-04-05T10:26:03","date_gmt":"2012-02-13T00:29:41","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-02-12T12:56:58","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=6671","title":{"rendered":"CA6: Warrant to seize necessarily includes power to search; here a computer"},"content":{"rendered":"

A warrant for child pornography on defendant\u2019s computer was based on probable cause from a report from a user who saw it. The warrant was to \u201cseize,\u201d and that included \u201csearch.\u201d United States v. Evers<\/a>, 669 F.3d 645, 2012 FED App. 0042P (6th Cir. 2012):<\/p>\n

The federal courts are in agreement that a warrant authorizing the seizure of a defendant\u2019s home computer equipment and digital media for a subsequent off-site electronic search is not unreasonable or overbroad, as long as the probable-cause showing in the warrant application and affidavit demonstrate a \u201csufficient chance of finding some needles in the computer haystack.\u201d Upham<\/a>, 168 F.3d at 535; see also United States v. Grimmett<\/a>, 439 F.3d 1263, 1268-70 (10th Cir. 2006) (holding that a warrant for the search of \u201cany and all\u201d computer hardware and software for child pornography authorized both the seizure and subsequent search of the defendant\u2019s computer files); Guest<\/a>, 255 F.3d at 335 (\u201cBecause of the technical difficulties of conducting a computer search in a suspect\u2019s home, the seizure of the computers, including their content, was reasonable in [this] case[] to allow police to locate the offending files.\u201d); Upham<\/a>, 168 F.3d at 535 (\u201cAs a practical matter, the seizure and subsequent off-premises search of the computer … was about the narrowest definable search and seizure reasonably likely to obtain the images [of the child pornography sought].\u201d).<\/p>\n

Moreover, a second warrant to search a properly seized computer is not necessary \u201cwhere the evidence obtained in the search did not exceed the probable cause articulated in the original warrant.\u201d Richards<\/a>, 659 F.3d at 539 n.10 (citing United States v. Gregoire<\/a>, 638 F.3d 962, 967-68 (8th Cir. 2011); Grimmett<\/a>, 439 F.3d at 1268-69; Upham<\/a>, 168 F.3d at 535; and United States v. Simpson<\/a>, 152 F.3d 1241, 1248 (10th Cir. 1998)). This is in keeping with the general principle that \u201ceven evidence not described in a search warrant may be seized if it is reasonably related to the offense which formed the basis for the search warrant.\u201d United States v. Wright<\/a>, 343 F.3d 849, 863 (6th Cir. 2003) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); see also United States v. Henson<\/a>, 848 F.2d 1374, 1383 (6th Cir. 1988) (\u201cA search does not become invalid merely because some items not covered by a warrant are seized.\u201d).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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