Seizing Laptops and Cameras Without Cause

Laptop Inspection/Seizure at Border

As technology evolves, so to does government interest. It use to be top secret papers would need to be copied and given to a KGB handler, to get back to Moscow, now, mini-SD chips fit 8+ GB, which can hold thousands of pages of documents.

American's have the Fourth Amendment as a shield to protect them from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment has evolved with technology. See, United States v. Blas, 1990 WL 265179, at *21 (E.D. Wis. Dec. 4, 1990) (”[A]n individual has the same expectation of privacy in a pager, computer, or other electronic data storage and retrieval device as in a closed container.”). However, the Fourth Amendment ceases when you want to enter back into the USA. Every body cavity and computer is open to inspection with little more than reasonable cause. A true border search can be made without probable cause, without a warrant, and, indeed, without any articulatable suspicion at all. The only limitation on such a search is the Fourth Amendment stricture that it be conducted reasonably. Note that the reasonableness calculus is different at the border (i.e., looser) than it is inland.

Despite such, when entering the USA, and, for the purposes of this post, a person has the Fifth Amendment as a shield. In a recent decision in Vermont, In re Boucher, a federal magistrate judge held that the Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination protects a suspect against having to reveal the password permitting access to his computer files. The software the defendant used, and which I recommend, besides using file wiping software in conjunction with other counter-forensic measures, is PGP whole disk encryption. Nothing has broken this encryption. The court determined that if Boucher was "forced" to provide the passphrase, then the contents could incriminate Boucher thus violate the Fifth Amendment. You can find the court's opinion here: http://www.volokh.com/files/Boucher.pdf

The end result, if you have material on a computer you do not want inspected, encrypt it. If the government can get a warrant to place spy ware on your computer while 'inspecting it' to reveal your pass phrase, then encrypt the file on a thumb drive. Of course, if your 'vacation' included taking pictures, then transfer those pix to an encrypted drive and insure the SD card from the camera is securely wiped.

In short, for every measure to obtain information, there's a counter-measure. However, if you are doing something while outside of the USA which can attract the Feds, I recommend---DON'T DO IT. Freedom is not free, but stupidity will put the most intelligent in prison.

Darren D. Chaker

Hola

I just wanted to greet to everyone as I am new here. I look forward to speaking with the forum. As for me, I am a http://www.bocapersonalinjuryattorney.org - boca raton personal injury attorney and would be willing to help any locals out in need of some legal help.

Wuthvryq

YKoXSc

Lack of probable cause

I usually take a work owned and my personal laptop on business trips. I'm traveling to Canada next week. Anybody got a real nasty virus for sale?

Terrorism at it's worst

I've said for years that Osama's plan wasn't to blow up some buildings, but to make us run around scared of ourselves and watch as we take our own rights away. And it's working. We punish American citizens who are not subject to any government investigations to these tactics to make ourselves feel better about our security, when, in fact, it does nothing to secure us. Every day the United States seems more and more like Russia was in the 70s and 80s. That's just scary. How long until the government declares martial law and shreds the Constitution as heresy? I believe Benjamin Franklin said it best when he said "Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither".

Tyranny and no more taxation period

tyranny of the majority start learning Mandarin folks cause this was the last straw on that promise to pay they just delivered and I'm talking about that usless document they call the costitution and legal tender

slippery slope

Many Americans just stood by in silent approval when individual freedoms were taken away from "brown-skinned" American citizens. Now that it's happening to "the rest of us" we want to stand up and shout.

I say, keep shouting! ...with liberty and justice for ALL.

Seizing Laptops, unwarranted searches.

I am not a business man, nor do I travel. I am retired Veteran and have no police record. It isn't the "Terrorists" I fear. It is the loss of my freedoms, my rights under the Constitution. One seemingly harmless intrusion after another by my Government. I do believe the United States is becoming a police state. All in the name of "War Against Terror".

america the prison

How long will the mass majority of Americans keep taking this abuse. Land of the free, we are prisoners in our own country. Government is supposed to be for the people by the people. Every time someone brings anything into question all i here is that if you have nothing to hide then why worry about it. Principal I am not a criminal and we do not deserve to be treated as criminals by default. What has happened to America, we get attacked by a terrorist and the American public is treated as the threat. I would not be surprised at all if 911 was planed just so our government could use its scare tactics to get this kind of dictatorship ship policy pushed threw. America land of no rights, no protection, against the people by the iron fist.

How is this not unconstitutional?

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.