Search and Seizure of Digital Evidence

Book excerpt: Moore explains the application of traditional Fourth Amendment jurisprudence to digital evidence.Moore explains the difficulties in applying traditional Fourth Amendment jurisprudence to digital evidence. He examines issues related to drafting search warrants, as well as several of the more common warrantless search doctrines, in order to determine what aspects of traditional search and seizure doctrine apply to crimes involving technology. To amplify his points, he discusses several high technology crimes. Additionally, he studies the nature of digital evidence in order to show how its volatile nature requires a greater understanding of when evidence may or may not be legally seized and searched.