United States v. Joseph Schesso

Searches of electronic records pose unique challenges for “striking the right balance between the government’s interest in law enforcement and the right of individuals to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.” United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc. (“CDT III”), 621 F.3d 1162, 1177 (9th Cir.2010) (en banc) (per curiam). This is a recurring theme in our decisions. See, e.g., United States v. Cotterman, 709 F.3d 952, 957 (9th Cir.2013) (en banc) (highlighting “individual privacy interests in data on portable digital devices” as one basis for requiring the government to have reasonable suspicion for the forensic examination of a laptop). Because electronic devices could contain vast quantities of intermingled information, raising the risks inherent in over-seizing data, CDT III, 621 F.3d at 1177 , law enforcement and judicial officers must be especially cognizant of privacy risks when drafting and executing search warrants for electronic evidence. We addressed this issue in CDT III, where we considered “the reality that over-seizing is an inherent part of the electronic search process,” and held that this “reality” called for judicial officers to…