Document Type
Brief
Case Name
Steven Warshak v. United States of America
Publication Date
11-21-2006
Abstract
No. 06-4092
Steven Warshak v. United States of America
On appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Cincinnati
From the Summary of Argument
Electronic mail (“e-mail’) has become an essential medium of communication and assumed a vital role in our lives. The contents of our e-mail accounts reveal extensive and detailed information about our interests, our views, and our actions. Yet, the Government in this case claims the right to obtain the entirety of our personal e-mail accounts from our service providers, without first establishing probable cause or providing us notice, so long as we have previously accessed our e-mails in some way. Acceptance of this radical claim would dramatically limit judicial oversight of an immensely powerful surveillance tool and eviscerate the privacy of electronic communications.
Recommended Citation
Bellia, Patricia L. and Freiwald, Susan, "Brief for Professors of Electronic Privacy Law and Internet Law as Amici Curiae Supporting the Appellee and Urging Affirmance" (2006). Court Briefs. 67.
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/sct_briefs/67
Included in
Courts Commons, Fourth Amendment Commons, Privacy Law Commons
Comments
Amici are scholars who teach, write about, or have an interest in electronic privacy law and Internet law. Amici have no stake in the outcome of this case, but are interested in ensuring that electronic privacy law develops with due regard for the vital role electronic communications play in our lives. A full list of amici is appended to the signature page. Both defendant-appellant and plaintiff-appellee have consented to the filing of this brief.
See the listing on Appendix pages 1-2, including Notre Dame Law School's Patricia L. Bellia.
Authorities include:
Bellia, Patricia L., Surveillance Law Through Cyberlaw’s Lens, 72 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1375 (2004).