11-30-2024, 08:28 AM
"Similarly, the warrant mentions "peer to peer file trading software" this is both overbroad and insufficiently particularized. There is no mention of peer-to-peer file sharing in the affidavit for the device warrant. Therefore, it is overbroad. Similarly, it places no limits on what kind of peer-to-peer file sharing evidence the government may collect. Therefore, it is insufficiently particularized.
Finally, the warrant includes an "indicia of ownership" clause that allows for "records and other items which evidence ownership or use of computer equipment found in the above residence." Warrants allowing for searches of "indicia of ownership" have been rejected by courts across the country because they turn an otherwise valid warrant into a general warrant. See State v. Bock, 310 Or. App. 329 (Ct. Ap. Or. 2021); People v. Coke, 461 P.3d 508 (Colo. Sup. Ct. 2020); State v. Hamilton, No. 6:18-CR-57- REW-10, 2019 WL 4455997 (E.D. Ky. August 30, 2019); see also People v Herrera, 357 P.3d 1227 (Colo. Sup. Ct. 2015) (rejecting the use of such clauses to justify broad searches); United States v. Ford, 184 F.3d 566, 586 (6th Cir. 1999) (rejecting the use of similar clauses that would potentially allow limitless seizures of financial information)."
Finally, the warrant includes an "indicia of ownership" clause that allows for "records and other items which evidence ownership or use of computer equipment found in the above residence." Warrants allowing for searches of "indicia of ownership" have been rejected by courts across the country because they turn an otherwise valid warrant into a general warrant. See State v. Bock, 310 Or. App. 329 (Ct. Ap. Or. 2021); People v. Coke, 461 P.3d 508 (Colo. Sup. Ct. 2020); State v. Hamilton, No. 6:18-CR-57- REW-10, 2019 WL 4455997 (E.D. Ky. August 30, 2019); see also People v Herrera, 357 P.3d 1227 (Colo. Sup. Ct. 2015) (rejecting the use of such clauses to justify broad searches); United States v. Ford, 184 F.3d 566, 586 (6th Cir. 1999) (rejecting the use of similar clauses that would potentially allow limitless seizures of financial information)."