Microsofts attempt to quash a search warrant for digital information stored on a server in Dublin, Ireland has been denied by a federal magistrate judge. Dealing a win to federal prosecutors, Magistrate Judge James Francis IV (See Profile) rejected the computer giants claim that the warrant is an extraterritorial search and seizure outside of the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts and therefore should be quashed. Legislative history reflecting the physical realities of the Internet and the demands of law enforcement led Francis to conclude that the property to be searched is with the Internet service provider, not the physical location of the server storing the data. Francis granted the Southern District U.S. Attorneys Offices application for a search warrant on Dec. 4, 2013. Microsoft complied with the warrant as to non-content information, but it balked when it learned that the target account, and the email content, was stored overseas. In Matter of a Warrant to Search a Certain E-Mail Account Controlled and Maintained by Microsoft Corporation, 13 Mag. 2814, Microsoft invoked Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd., 561 U.S. 247 (2010), where the U.S. Supreme Court held there is a presumption against the extraterritorial application of U.S. laws that can only be overcome by a clear statement by Congress to the contrary. The motion required Francis to examine the Stored Communications Act (SCA), passed as part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, 18 U.S.C. §§2701-2712, which allows the government to seek information by subpoena, court order or warrant. Here, prosecutors sought a search warrant, or SCA warrant under §2703(a), and the stakes were high on the motion to squash before Francis. Loren Reisner, chief of the Criminal Division of the Southern District U.S. Attorneys Office, represented the government, while Guy Petrillo of Petrillo Klein & Boxer, the divisions chief from 2008 to 2009, argued for Microsoft. Petrillo contended that Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41 governed the search warrant, and under the rule, federal courts are not authorized to issue warrants for the search and seizure for property outside the territorial limits of the United States. But Francis noted, The SCA was enacted at least in part in response to the recognition that the Fourth Amendment protections that apply to the physical world, and especially to ones home, might not apply to information communicated through the Internet. Read more: newyorklawjournal/id=1202652994786/Warrant-Backed-for-Microsoft-Emails-on-Server-in-Ireland#ixzz30JJKWc8W
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 20:48:47 +0000
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