Federal appeals court raises standard for border inspections of laptops News
Federal appeals court raises standard for border inspections of laptops
Photo source or description

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled Friday that Homeland Security’s border agents must demonstrate reasonable suspicion [opinion, PDF] of wrongdoing before conducting forensic analysis of laptop computers and electronic devices. “Laptop computers, iPads and the like are simultaneously offices and personal diaries. They contain the most intimate details of our lives,” wrote Judge M Margaret McKeown. “A person’s digital life ought not be hijacked simply by crossing a border.” Border searches are an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant preference, but this holding serves to narrow the exception. The case concerned a 2007 search of a traveler’s laptop which resulted in the discovery of child pornography. The Ninth Circuit found that reasonable suspicion was justified in this case due to the defendant’s history of sex offenses and password-protected files.

The Ninth Circuit’s heightening of border inspections for laptops follows several previous decisions on the subject. In 2010 the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the government’s ability to search electronic devices without reasonable suspicion [JURIST report]. In 2009 Barry Steinhard, Senior Advisor of Privacy International, discussed why reasonable suspicion should be required [JURIST comment] for laptop searches. Also in 2009, John Wesley Hall, Jr., Former President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, discussed why reasonable suspicion should be involved [JURIST comment] in border inspections of laptops. Also that year the Department of Homeland Security announced new restrictions on controversial searches of laptops [JURIST report].

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.