A Federal Appeals Court recently extended Fourth Amendment protections to emails – yet another adaptation of the Fourth Amendment to our modern age. In Warshak v. United States, Case No. 06-492 (6th Cir. 2008), the court stated “an Internet subscriber enjoys a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of emails that are stored with, or sent or received through, a commercial Internet Service Provider.”. This ruling came after federal authorities seized emails from a company called Enzyte, who marketed “male enhancement” on national television for a time.
The government alleged that the company based its advertisements on fake studies and pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars. A jury ultimately agreed, but emails that were seized from the company without a warrant were presented in the trial over the defendants’s objections. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s ruling on the emails, holding that a commercial email provider is akin to the post office in that it handles electronic communication – sometimes very sensitive communication – with an expectation of privacy.
In the case at issue, the government seized over 27,000 emails from the Internet Service Provider. It is worth noting that the court’s ruling does not preclude the government from obtaining a warrant to seize emails, just like any other evidence. However, the extension of the warrant requirement to electronic communications is just another step in the evolution of the Fourth Amendment, one that will hopefully prevent unreasonable government intrusions to your privacy.
If you are being charged with a crime, don’t face it alone. Visit my website at http://www.shafercriminallaw.com or call me at (904)350-9333 for a free consultation.