Computer Search Techniques Need Not Be Explicit

The forensic search methods that will be used in a computer search need not be outlined in a warrant.

 

United States v. Mulcahey, 2015 BL 415955, D. Mass., No. 1:15-cr-10112, 12/17/15

    The defendants moved to suppress evidence found on the hard drives of a computer seized, with a warrant, from their business premises, arguing that the warrant was defective because it authorized only the seizure and not the search of the hard drives.

    The district court found that the warrant was proper because the language clearly identified the property to be searched and seized. The court indicated that the defendants failed to identify what conditions might be given to limit the search, and how those conditions would be applied. The court referred to a 2013 ruling from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts which rejected the idea that advanced approval of particular forensic examination methods of computers is necessary.

http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/USA_v_Mulcahey_et_al_Docket_No_115cr10112_D_Mass_May_05_2015_Cour/1?1452611588