Delays in Obtaining Search Warrants for Digital Devices

There have been several recent cases regarding delays in obtaining search warrants for digital devices that have been lawfully seized. For example, in United States v. Pratt, 915 F.3d 266 (4th Cir. 2019), officers seized a suspect’s phone based on the suspect’s admission that it contained nude pictures of an underage girl. The opinion doesn’t say, but I assume that the basis of the seizure was risk of destruction of evidence. However, the officers didn’t obtain a search warrant for the phone for 31 days. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit ruled that the delay was unreasonable in violation of the Fourth Amendment. It turns out that Pratt isn’t alone. This issue is not unique to digital devices. For example, in United State v. Dass, 849 F.2d 414 (9th Cir. 1988), the court ruled that delays of between seven and 21 days in obtaining search warrants for mailed packages on which drug dogs had alerted was unreasonable because law enforcement had not been diligent in seeking the warrants. However, for whatever reason, there seem to be many more cases regarding delays in obtaining warrants for digital devices than there are regarding other types of evidence. The seminal case regarding digital devices. By far the most-cited case in this area of law is United States v. Mitchell, 565 F.3d 1347 (11th Cir. 2009), a child pornography case in which officers seized the defendant’s hard drive after the defendant admitted during a knock and talk that it contained contraband. Shortly after the seizure, the [...]