A Trifecta of Fourth Amendment Issues in Sex Crime Cases

FourthAmedment.com has had three recent posts concerning search and seizure issues in kiddie porn cases.  First up was a post about whether voluntary showing of some computer images constituted consent for viewing of other images on the computer at a later time:

A federal search warrant for a computer of a member of the military seized from his apartment off base on an oral search authorization was valid. Appellant had taken pictures at a party where a sexual assault was alleged to have occurred, and OSI was investigating. He voluntarily showed them pictures on his computer, but they felt that there were more. They came back and seized the computer because there was evidence on it. He was not a suspect in any crime. After the seizure, OSI figured out that they should get a written search authorization. At the time the warrant was issued, the USMJ asked whether the hard drive of the computer had been searched, and they said it hadn't. The officers, however, had clicked on photographs which was beyond the authority in the oral search authorization because she was curious whether child pornography was on the computer. The search was thus invalid. United States v. Osorio, 2008 CCA LEXIS 184 (A.F. C.A. May 9, 2008).

Then, there was a post about an opinion concerning the scope of a warrant in a child porn search:

Affidavit for search of computer for child porn was sufficient where it alleged nonsexual pictures of a young woman along with defendant's acts toward her which showed a fair probability that child porn would be found. "[A] search warrant for child pornography stored on a computer need not be restricted to the images that authorities have already seen or know to exist." The search warrant was overbroad as to some things not child porn since probable cause was lacking as to them. United States v. Ogden, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42216 (W.D. Tenn. May 28, 2008).

Lastly, a post concerns a case where a confession of child pornography possession justified a search of a computer:

Defendant's confession he had child porn supported the search of his computer with reasonable suspicion while he was on probation. United States v. Gomes, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 11679 (11th Cir. May 29, 2008) (unpublished).