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W.D.Pa.: P2P sharing of files is not a complete waiver or REP in a computer

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant still had an expectation of privacy in his shared folder file of his computer from police entry, despite the fact that others could access it on a peer to peer sharing where the government did not enter the computer through peer to peer sharing. The government also showed probable cause to search individual files that were identified. United States v. Beatty, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121473 (W.D. Pa. December 31, 2009)*: However, none of the cases cited by the Government stand for the proposition that an individual running P2P software thereby loses his Fourth Amendment "standing" to challenge a search which involves entry into his home and the seizure and subsequent search of his entire computer. Were that the case, Agent Brenneis could have entered the Defendant's home and downloaded from his computer any shared files without having first obtained any warrant at all...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 06, 2010 (boomark / email).