FBI Agents Back Down When Librarian Refuses to Let Them Seize 30 Computers Without a Warrant]

["David Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: FBI Agents Back Down When Librarian Refuses to Let Them Seize 30
Computers Without a Warrant From:    "Dan Updegrove"
<updegrove () mail utexas edu>
Date:    Tue, January 31, 2006 8:56 am
To:      "Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dave,

Today's The Chronicle of Higher Education carries this story. I hadn't
seen  prior references to it.

Regards,
Dan


Tuesday, January 31, 2006



FBI Agents Back Down When Librarian Refuses to Let Them Seize 30 Computers
 Without a Warrant

<mailto:andrea.foster () chronicle com>By ANDREA L. FOSTER

An e-mail threat that prompted the evacuation of more than a dozen
Brandeis  University buildings on January 18 led to an unusual standoff in
a public  library in Newton, Mass., a few miles from the Brandeis campus.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents tried to seize 30 of the library's 
computers without a warrant, saying someone had used the library's
Internet  connection to send the threat to Brandeis. But the library
director, Kathy  Glick-Weil, told the agents they could not take the
machines unless they  got a warrant first. Newton's mayor, David Cohen,
backed Ms. Glick-Weil up.

After a brief standoff, FBI officials relented and sought a warrant from a
 judge. Meanwhile, Ms. Glick-Weil allowed an FBI computer-forensics
examiner  to work with information-technology specialists at the library
to narrow  down which computers might have been used to send the
threatening message.  They determined that three computers were implicated
in the alleged crime.

Late that evening, the FBI received a warrant to cart away the three 
computers. According to Mayor Cohen, the warrant allows the FBI to view 
only the threatening e-mail message and the messages sent immediately 
before and after that message.

Mr. Cohen said in an interview on Monday that he and Ms. Glick-Weil 
demanded the warrant because the FBI agents did not indicate that anyone
at  Brandeis faced a "clear and present danger." If there had been such a 
danger, Mr. Cohen added, agents probably would have seized the computers 
without even asking for them.

"We were able to both protect public safety and also protect the rights of
 people, the sense of privacy of many, man

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