Executing Warrants for Digital Evidence: The Case for Use Restrictions on Nonresponsive Data
Orin S. Kerr · bepress Legal Repository · 2015
In Executing Warrants for Digital Evidence: The Case for Use Restrictions on Nonresponsive Data, Orin S. Kerr examines how traditional Fourth Amendment search warrant principles should apply to digital evidence. Kerr explains that computer searches often require investigators to access vast amounts of private data, much of which falls outside the scope of a warrant’s authorization. He contends that existing doctrines inadequately protect privacy once lawful access to digital storage is granted. To address this imbalance, Kerr proposes “use restrictions” — legal limits preventing the government from using nonresponsive data discovered during lawful searches. This framework, he concludes, best reconciles the practical needs of digital evidence collection with constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.