Daily Archives: March 6, 2020

Protocol: Through apps, not warrants, ‘Locate X’ allows federal law enforcement to track phones

Protocol: Through apps, not warrants, ‘Locate X’ allows federal law enforcement to track phones by Charles Levinson (“Federal agencies have big contracts with Virginia-based Babel Street. Depending on where you’ve traveled, your movements may be in the company’s data.”)

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Tennessean: Opinion: Tennessee forfeiture laws have strayed away from original civil design

Tennessean: Opinion: Tennessee forfeiture laws have strayed away from original civil design by David Seal (“Civil forfeiture in Tennessee has strayed far from its original design, sweeping up thousands of people in small-scale seizures that are just not practical for … Continue reading

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NPR: Genealogy Websites Help To Solve Crimes, Raise Questions About Ethics

NPR: Genealogy Websites Help To Solve Crimes, Raise Questions About Ethics by Kate Payne (“An Iowa man has been found guilty of a 40-year-old murder after he was tracked down through a family genealogy website. Many privacy concerns have been … Continue reading

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National Constitution Center video on the importance of jury duty

This is the video from the National Constitution Center’s exhibit on the right to trial by jury. It is the most underrated video on YouTube. After the attacks on the Roger Stone jury, I persuaded the trial judge in my … Continue reading

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D.Minn.: Consent to seize cell phone was voluntary; def wasn’t even seized

Consent to seizure of defendant’s cell phone was voluntary: “There is no evidence in the record suggesting Thompson’s consent to turn over her phone was involuntary. The request for her phone occurred in a public place and the entirety of … Continue reading

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DE: Def’s consent overcame overbreadth issue; “all digital contents” includes photos

The scope of the search of defendant’s cell phone data was overbroad, but defendant consented: “However, Defendant consented to the search of ‘all digital contents’ of his cell phone. Based on the scope of this consent, the police were permitted … Continue reading

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N.D.W.Va.: Officers’ knowledge of def’s violent past justified patdown during stop

Officer’s prior knowledge of defendant’s violent past and criminal history, with reasonable suspicion, justified his patdown. United States v. South, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35208 (N.D. W.Va. Mar. 2, 2020).* Officers had a search warrant for the car defendant was … Continue reading

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