Whether the plain view doctrine makes sense in the context of computer searches, and if it doesn’t, what courts should do about it, are controversial issues. We don’t have any North Carolina case law on point but decisions are piling up around the country. This post summarizes the controversy. Computer searches may be very thorough. Generally, courts have held that when an officer is entitled to search a computer for evidence of a crime, the officer may review every file on the computer. This is because of the ease with which files can be camouflaged or disguised through misleading file names or extensions. See, e.g., United States v. Stabile, 633 F.3d 219 (3rd Cir. 2011) (searching video files pursuant to search warrant for financial crimes was “objectively reasonable because criminals can easily alter file names and file extensions to conceal contraband,” and “the plain view doctrine applies to seizures of evidence during searches of computer files, [though] the exact confines of the doctrine will vary from case to case in a common-sense, fact-intensive manner”); United States v. Williams, 592 F.3d 511 (4th Cir. 2010) (stating that a computer search requires “at least a cursory review of each file on the computer”). Broad computer searches may bring evidence of other crimes into view. Because of the broad scope of computer searches, they require officers to sift through large amounts of information unrelated to the crime under investigation. As a result, officers executing computer search warrants often encounter evidence of crimes other than [...]
Faculty Coordinators
