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1. Seizure of Computer Contents EHFDXVH WKH ODFN RI D SUHVHL]XUH KHDULQJ ULVNHG WKH ³DEULGJPHQW RI WKH ULJKW RI WKH SXEOLF LQ D IUHH VRFLHW\ WR The warrant authorized the seizure of personal XQREVWUXFWHGFLUFXODWLRQRIQRQREVFHQHERRNV´$4XDQWLW\ communications related to the offense. Although there were RI&RSLHV86DW presumably communications on the computers that did not relate to the offenses, "[a] search does not become invalid 7KHUH LV QRW KRZHYHU DQ DEVROXWH ULJKW WR D SULRU merely because some items not covered by a warrant are DGYHUVDULDOKHDULQJLQFDVHVZKHUHDOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDO seized." United States v. Henson, 848 F.2d 1374, 1383 (6th LV VHL]HG WR SUHVHUYH HYLGHQFH LQ D FULPLQDO SURVHFXWLRQ Cir. 1988). In Henson, a case affirming convictions involving +HOOHUY1HZ111 F.3d 1472, 1481 (10th >L@IVXFKDVHL]XUHLVSXUVXDQWWRDZDUUDQWLVVXHGDIWHUD Cir. 1997) (finding no Fourth Amendment violation when GHWHUPLQDWLRQRISUREDEOHFDXVHE\DQHXWUDOPDJLVWUDWH defendants seized a bulletin board system computer that DQG IROORZLQJ WKH VHL]XUH D SURPSW MXGLFLDO contained personal communications unrelated to the crime GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI WKH REVFHQLW\ LVVXH LQ DQ DGYHUVDU\ under investigation); United States v. Hay, 231 F.3d 630, 637- SURFHHGLQJLVDYDLODEOHDWWKHUHTXHVWRIDQ\LQWHUHVWHG 38 (9th Cir. 2000) (finding no Fourth Amendment violation SDUW\WKHVHL]XUHLVFRQVWLWXWLRQDOO\SHUPLVVLEOH in the search and seizure of a computer system in a child ,G DW 7KH &RXUW HPSKDVL]HG WKDW 0DUFXV DQG $ pornography investigation); United States v. Upham, 168 F.3d 4XDQWLW\RI&RSLHV³FRQFHUQHGWKHVHL]XUHRIODUJHTXDQWLWLHV 532, 536 (1st Cir. 1999) (same). In the instant cases, when RIERRNVIRUWKHVROHSXUSRVHRIWKHLUGHVWUXFWLRQ´,GDW the seizures occurred, defendants were unable to separate ³>:@KHUHDOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDOLVVHL]HGSXUVXDQWWRD relevant files from unrelated files, so they took the computers ZDUUDQW WR SUHVHUYH WKH PDWHULDO DV HYLGHQFH LQ D FULPLQDO to be able to sort out the documents off-site. Because of the SURVHFXWLRQ´ WKHUH LV QR DEVROXWH )LUVW RU )RXUWHHQWK technical difficulties of conducting a computer search in a $PHQGPHQWULJKWWRDSULRUDGYHUVDU\KHDULQJ,GDW,Q suspect’s home, the seizure of the computers, including their GLFWDWKH&RXUWZDUQHGWKDWLIWKHH[KLELWRUPDGHDVKRZLQJ content, was reasonable in these cases to allow police to WRWKHWULDOFRXUWWKDWKHGLGQRWKDYHRWKHUFRSLHVRIWKHILOP locate the offending files. DYDLODEOH ³WKH FRXUW VKRXOG SHUPLW WKH VHL]HG ILOP WR EH FRSLHGVRWKDWVKRZLQJFDQEHFRQWLQXHGSHQGLQJDMXGLFLDO 2. E-mail Search GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI WKH REVFHQLW\ LVVXH LQ DQ DGYHUVDU\ SURFHHGLQJ2WKHUZLVHWKHILOPPXVWEHUHWXUQHG´,GDW Plaintiffs also allege that defendants read their e-mail, an IRRWQRWHVRPLWWHG allegation defendants deny. Plaintiffs rely for evidence on the following. A plaintiff testified as an expert witness that ,QWKHLQVWDQWFDVHV5(&,WRRNWKHFRPSXWHUVWRHVWDEOLVK certain log records were missing from the Guest CCC BBS HYLGHQFHRIFULPLQDOYLRODWLRQVDVLQ+HOOHU7KH\RSHUDWHG computers when the computers were returned; these logs ZLWKDZDUUDQWDQGDSULRUGHWHUPLQDWLRQRIREVFHQLW\E\D normally keep a record of the use of the computer, and the PDJLVWUDWH XQOLNH WKH 0DUFXV FDVH 7KHUH ZDV QR PDVV *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO 1RV 1RV *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO
F. Qualified Immunity expert testified that defendants must have deleted the log files or prevented them from generating. The Guest plaintiffs also According to plaintiffs, "Defendants Leis, Hamilton County refer to a paper printout of the computer directories, which Sheriff’s Department and RECI cannot assert qualified showed defendants’ check marks next to several directory immunity" as "political subdivisions." Guest Br. at 46. names, including a directory labeled "e-mail." Qualified immunity may be asserted by government officials sued in their individual capacity. Harlow, 457 U.S. at 807. The printout and absence of log files are not evidence that As the district court granted qualified immunity only to the the defendants read private communications. Plaintiffs are individual defendants, plaintiffs’ objections about immunity essentially relying on an assumption that because defendants for the sheriff’s department and RECI are unfounded. Sheriff could have read e-mail, there is evidence that they did read e- Leis was sued in his individual capacity (as well as in his mail. Defendants may legitimately have checked to see that official capacity), so he may properly assert the defense in his the contents of the directories corresponded to the labels individual capacity. Because we have concluded that there placed on the directories. Suspects would otherwise be able were no Fourth Amendment violations, the individual to shield evidence from a search simply by "misfiling" it in a defendants are all entitled to qualified immunity on the Fourth directory labeled "e-mail." In the Guest case, defendants had Amendment claims asserted against them in their individual a list of file names and thus could conduct their search by capacities. reviewing the file names in a directory, without actually opening the files and viewing the contents. While we ,,,)LUVW$PHQGPHQW construe the facts on summary judgment in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, "[t]he mere existence of a 3ODLQWLIIV DOOHJH WKDW WKH GHIHQGDQWV YLRODWHG WKHLU )LUVW scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff’s position will $PHQGPHQWULJKWVE\VHL]LQJDQGVKXWWLQJGRZQWKHEXOOHWLQ be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury ERDUG V\VWHPV WKXV HIIHFWLQJ D SULRU UHVWUDLQW RQ VSHHFK could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Mitchell v. Toledo 7KH\UHO\RQWZR6XSUHPH&RXUWFDVHVZKLFKHVWDEOLVKHGD Hosp., 964 F.2d 577, 581 (6th Cir. 1992) (quoting Anderson JHQHUDO UXOH WKDW SROLFH FDQQRW PDNH PDVV VHL]XUHV RI v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252 (1986)). Plaintiffs’ DOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDOZLWKRXWDSULRUDGYHUVDULDOMXGLFLDO assumptions are insufficient to establish a genuine issue of GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI REVFHQLW\ 6HH $ 4XDQWLW\ RI &RSLHV RI fact regarding an e-mail search. %RRNV Y .DQVDV 86 0DUFXV Y 6HDUFK :DUUDQWV 86 ,Q $ 4XDQWLW\ RI &RSLHV 3. Search of Subscriber Information SROLFHVHL]HGFRSLHVRIQRYHOVDIWHUH[SDUWHMXGLFLDO H[DPLQDWLRQ RI VHYHQ RI WKH DOOHJHGO\ REVFHQH ERRNV $ Plaintiffs argue that defendants violated the Fourth 4XDQWLW\RI&RSLHV86DW ,Q0DUFXVSROLFH Amendment by accessing bulletin board subscriber VHL]HG DSSUR[LPDWHO\ FRSLHV RI SXEOLFDWLRQV information. These records include information such as ZLWKRXWDSULRUMXGLFLDOGHWHUPLQDWLRQRIREVFHQLW\0DUFXV subscribers’ names, addresses, birthdates, and passwords. As 86DW6XFKVHL]XUHVYLRODWHGWKH)LUVW$PHQGPHQW we have noted above, a person must have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the matter searched in order to challenge a search under the Fourth Amendment. Individuals 3ODLQWLIIV DUJXH WKDW GHIHQGDQWV DUH QRW HQWLWOHG WR TXDOLILHG generally lose a reasonable expectation of privacy in their LPPXQLW\ EHFDXVH WKH RIILFHUV GLG QRW IROORZ WKH DGYLFH RI WKH SURVHFXWRUV information once they reveal it to third parties. See United ZKR UHYLHZHG WKH ZDUUDQW 6LQFH ZH KDYH IRXQG QR FRQVWLWXWLRQDO YLRODWLRQ WKH DGYLFH RI WKH SURVHFXWRUV LV LUUHOHYDQW WR RXU GHFLVLRQ States v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435, 443 (1976), limited by statute. *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO 1RV 1RV *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO
A bank customer, for instance, does not have a legitimate D. Particularity expectation of privacy in the information that he or she has conveyed to the bank; by placing the information under Plaintiffs argue that the warrant failed to describe with control of a third party, the customer assumes the risk that the sufficient particularity the things to be seized. They seem to bank will convey the information to the government. Id. base this argument on the warrant’s failure to particularly Courts have applied this principle to computer searches and identify communications or subscriber information. A search seizures to conclude that computer users do not have a warrant must particularly describe the things to be seized, but legitimate expectation of privacy in their subscriber the description, whose specificity will vary with the information because they have conveyed it to another circumstances of the case, will be "valid if it is as specific as personthe system operator. See Maxwell, 45 M.J. at 418; the circumstances and the nature of the activity under United States v. Kennedy, 81 F. Supp. 2d 1103, 1110 (D. Kan. investigation permit." Henson, 848 F.2d at 1383 (quoting 2000) (rejecting a privacy interest in subscriber information United States v. Blum, 753 F.2d 999, 1001 (11th Cir. 1985)). communicated to an internet service provider); United States v. Hambrick, No. 99-4793, 2000 WL 1062039, at *4 (4th Cir. In the instant cases, the warrants required that the Aug. 3, 2000) (unpublished) (holding that defendant communications and computer records pertain to the listed destroyed any privacy interest in his subscriber information offenses. Defendants could not have obtained more specific when he conveyed it to an internet service provider) (citing identification of e-mails and subscriber data, which were not Miller, 425 U.S. at 442). We conclude that plaintiffs in these accessible to them. The description was thus particular cases lack a Fourth Amendment privacy interest in their enough as the circumstances permitted for these items. subscriber information because they communicated it to the Moreover, since plaintiffs have not established that their systems operators. In addition, in the O’Brien case, communications were searched, there would be no harm from subscriber information would be that of the users, who do not an alleged defect in the warrant regarding any of the have Fourth Amendment standing. communications.
4. Software Search E. Probable Cause
Plaintiffs also assert that defendants exceeded the scope of Plaintiffs assert that the warrants did not state "probable the warrant when they searched for unlicenced software. The cause to believe that the Plaintiffs’ public and private only individual with a privacy interest in the software would communications, and their subscriber information, was be the person possessing the software, i.e., the computer’s evidence of a crime." Guest Brief at 43. Plaintiffs do not owner or the system operator. In the Guest case, the owner dispute in their briefs that defendants had probable cause to and bulletin board operator, Robert Emerson, is not a party to search for evidence of crimes on the computers. As we have the case. In the O’Brien case, although the owner and already determined, the difficulty of locating and extracting operator are parties, the warrant listed the offense of these images meant that a seizure of the whole computer "possession of unlicenced property," so the search for system was not unreasonable, so long as there was probable unlicenced software in that case was clearly authorized by the cause to conclude that evidence of a crime would be found on warrant. the computer. An analysis of probable cause to search the materials is unnecessary since plaintiffs have failed to establish that their communications were searched, and they lack a privacy interest in their subscriber information.