Judge Samuel Alito's police-friendly views of electronic surveillance [priv]

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: November 1, 2005 9:55:39 PM EST
To: politech () politechbot com
Subject: [Politech] Judge Samuel Alito's police-friendly views of  
electronic surveillance [priv]


http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5927003.html

Nominee's past rulings give hint of tech views
November 1, 2005, 4:58 PM PST

...snip...

In a case decided last year, Alito ruled that the FBI did not need a  
warrant to outfit the hotel suite of a boxing official with a hidden  
audio recorder and remotely controlled video camera that could swivel  
360 degrees. The devices were activated when a police informant was  
also present in the room of the official, who was suspected of taking  
bribes.

Alito's fellow judge Theodore McKee, a Clinton appointee, dissented  
on the grounds that advances in surveillance technology would  
eviscerate the privacy principles found in the Fourth Amendment's  
prohibition of "unreasonable searches."

"Given the evolving sophistication of technology, it is increasingly  
imperative that the fundamental liberties guaranteed under the Fourth  
Amendment not be eroded by the warrantless use of devices that allow  
the government to see through curtains, walls and doors," McKee  
wrote. "To the extent the Fourth Amendment has any vitality in an era  
of increasingly sophisticated electronic eavesdropping, it surely  
protects the privacy of someone in the intimacy of a hotel suite from  
the potential of warrantless 24-hour video surveillance."

...snip...

In another case decided in 2002 by the 3rd Circuit Court, police in  
Pennsylvania acted on a six-month-old tip that a high school teacher  
was viewing illegal adult pornography on the Internet. They obtained  
a search warrant for the teacher's home and found child pornography  
on his computer's hard drive.

In an opinion written by Judge Maryanne Barry, another Clinton  
appointee, the 2-1 majority said the search warrant was invalid  
because the tip was "stale" and based on a dubious source. Also, they  
said, police had no probable cause to look for any kind of  
pornography, and investigators should not go on a fishing expedition  
through a suspect's hard drive just to find some sort of  
incriminating files.

Alito dissented. "The previously-noted incidents alleged in the  
affidavit showed that the defendant had a sexual interest in minors  
and that he had used sexual materials on several occasions as part of  
his course of conduct," he wrote. "All of this information tends to  
support a finding of probable cause."

...snip...
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