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S.D. Ind.: Indiana convicted sex offender computer search law unconstitutional under Fourth Amendment

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Ind. Code § 11-8-8-8(a)(7) permitting searches of a convicted sex offender's computer without cause is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. Doe v. Prosecutor, Marion County, Indiana, 1:08-cv-0436-DFH-TAB (S.D. Ind. June 24, 2008) (David Hamilton, C.J.): At the hearing, the defendants suggested that these effects are not substantial because no one in our society can ever have absolute assurances of privacy. Defendants point out, for example, that a court might issue a search warrant for plaintiff Doe’s computer, thus exposing his clients’ and his confidential information to scrutiny by police officers. That much is true, but the logic of the argument runs contrary to nearly 220 years of American constitutional law. The Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of Americans by placing a neutral judicial officer between the police and the privacy of the home and papers (and now computers), by requiring a warrant based on probable cause, and by requiring that the warrant be specific...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 25, 2008 (boomark / email).