Facebook, Inc. v. Superior Court of San Diego Cnty.

223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 660, 15 Cal. App. 5th 729, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 829
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedSeptember 26, 2017
DocketD072171
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 660 (Facebook, Inc. v. Superior Court of San Diego Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Facebook, Inc. v. Superior Court of San Diego Cnty., 223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 660, 15 Cal. App. 5th 729, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 829 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

NARES, Acting P. J.

*733The issue whether a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to obtain social media records from an electronic communication or remote computing service is currently under review by the California Supreme Court in Facebook, Inc. v. Superior Court (2015) 240 Cal.App.4th 203, review granted December 16, 2015, S230051 ( Facebook I ). In this case, we address the same issue knowing that our high court will likely grant review and hold this matter pending a decision in Facebook I . Nonetheless, we publish our thoughts agreeing with the conclusion in Facebook I for their potential persuasive value. ( Cal. Rules of Court, rules 8.1105(e), 8.1115(e)(1) [published opinions for which the Supreme Court has granted review have no binding or precedential value but may be cited for potential persuasive value only].) Accordingly, the petition for writ of mandate is granted.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Real party in interest Lance Touchstone is awaiting trial in respondent San Diego County Superior Court (the trial court) on a charge of attempting to murder Jeffrey R. (the victim). (Pen. Code, §§ 664/187, subd. (a).) After the shooting incident, the victim has been active on his personal Facebook, Inc., (Facebook) account. He posted updates of his physical recovery from the hospital, requesting private messages over the Facebook messaging system. On the public portion of his Facebook page that is visible to all Facebook users, the victim posted updates of court hearings in this case, asking his friends to attend the preliminary hearing. In public posts the victim also discussed his personal use of guns and drugs, and described his desire to rob and kill people.

Believing nonpublic content of the victim's Facebook account might provide exculpatory evidence helpful in preparing for trial, Touchstone served *734petitioner Facebook1 with a subpoena for the subscriber records and contents of the victim's Facebook account, including timeline posts, messages, phone calls, photos, videos, location information and user-input information from account inception to the present date. Facebook filed a motion to quash the subpoena on the ground the Stored Communications Act (SCA) ( 18 U.S.C.2 § 2701 et seq. ) prohibited disclosure of the victim's account contents. In an accompanying declaration, counsel for Facebook stated that Touchstone could obtain the requested contents directly from the victim or by working with the prosecutor to obtain a search warrant based on probable cause.

Touchstone opposed the motion on the grounds he had a plausible justification for requesting the contents of the victim's account, he should be allowed to obtain the contents because law enforcement could do so by a search warrant, his constitutional right to a fair trial trumped the SCA, and *663he could not obtain the contents from other sources because the victim was uncooperative and the prosecutor had not obtained a search warrant. At oral argument, defense counsel represented that the prosecution refused to issue a search warrant for the material and that she has been unable to locate the victim to serve him with a subpoena. The trial court denied the motion to quash and ordered Facebook to produce the contents of the victim's account for in camera inspection by a certain date.

Facebook seeks a writ directing the trial court to vacate its order denying the motion to quash the subpoena and to enter a new order granting the motion to quash. Facebook contends the trial court abused its discretion by denying the motion to quash and ordering production of documents for in camera inspection because the SCA prohibits Facebook from disclosing the content of its users' accounts in response to a subpoena. Facebook further contends that compelling it to disclose the contents of the victim's account is not necessary to preserve Touchstone's constitutional right to a fair trial because Touchstone can obtain the contents directly from the victim or through the prosecutor via a search warrant.

Facebook contends this court should adhere to the decision in Facebook I that a criminal defendant has no constitutional right to pretrial discovery of information protected from disclosure by the SCA. Facebook contends writ review is needed because it cannot appeal the order denying the motion to *735quash; the trial court abused its discretion by ordering production of contents protected from disclosure by the SCA; Facebook risks civil liability if it complies with the order or contempt if it does not; and the statutory and constitutional issues involved are novel, of widespread interest, and the subject of conflicting trial court rulings. Facebook also seeks an immediate stay of the challenged order to remain in effect until this court rules on the writ petition.

We stayed the production order pending consideration of the petition and requested an answer. Touchstone filed an answer. We issued an order to show cause to the respondent trial court why the relief requested in the petition should not be granted and stayed all further proceedings in the trial court. We requested and obtained supplemental briefing on the following three questions: (1) Does the supremacy clause prohibit enforcement of the subpoenas? (See U.S. Const., art. VI; Olszewski v. Scripps Health (2003) 30 Cal.4th 798, 815, 135 Cal.Rptr.2d 1, 69 P.3d 927 ["A state law actually conflicts with federal law 'where it is impossible for a private party to comply with both state and federal requirements ....' "] ); (2) If the materiality of private electronic communications is shown during trial, can the trial court compel a subscriber (such as the victim) or a witness who is also a recipient of a private electronic communication from the victim to consent to disclosure by Facebook of electronic communications for an in camera review? (See § 2702(b)(3); Juror Number One v. Superior Court (2012) 206 Cal.App.4th 854, 142 Cal.Rptr.3d 151 ); and (3) If the trial court may compel a witness to produce private electronic communications, what procedures or protections exist, or may be implemented to prevent a witness from deleting the communications?"

DISCUSSION

I. THE SCA

Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) ( Pub.L. No. 99-508 (Oct. 21, 1986) 100 Stat. 1848

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 660, 15 Cal. App. 5th 729, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 829, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/facebook-inc-v-superior-court-of-san-diego-cnty-calctapp5d-2017.