Opinion
CLYDE M. BLACKMON, ROTHSCHILD WISHEK & SANDS LLP, William S. Wong, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Sacramento, CA, Attorneys for Defendant, CHRISTOPHER SEAN GEANAKOS.
STIPULATION AND PROTECTIVE ORDER REGARDING DEFENSE EXAMINATION AND ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL MEDIA CONTAINING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
MORRISON C. ENGLAND, Jr., Chief District Judge.
The United States of America, through its counsel William S. Wong, and Christopher Sean Geanakos, through his counsel Clyde M. Blackmon, stipulate to the issuance of the attached [Proposed] Protective Order which would permit a defense expert to inspect and analyze the contents of the hard drive and attendant storage media connected with the computer seized from Mr. Geanakos pursuant to a search warrant on August 8, 2013.
Mr. Geanakos's computer was seized by Det. James Williams of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department who is currently assigned to the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The computer is in the custody of Det. Williams. The government contends that the computer hard drive and/or attendant storage media contain images of child pornography.
Marcus Lawson is the President of Global CompuSearch, LLP and an expert in the investigation and analysis of digital evidence. To assist in the investigation of the case and pursuant to the Court's authorization, counsel for Mr. Geanakos has retained the services of Mr. Lawson and Global CompuSearch to examine and analyze the digital information contained on the hard Drive and attendant storage media of Mr. Geanakos's computer. To facilitate that examination it will be necessary for the government to create a duplicate copy of the hard drive and provide a private location in which Mr. Lawson, or one of the other experts employed by Global CompuSearch, can conduct the examination.
Therefore, the government and Mr. Geanakos stipulate to the issuance of the attached [Proposed] Protective Order.
PROTECTIVE ORDER
GOOD CAUSE APPEARING upon the stipulation of the parties it is ordered:
1. Officers of the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force shall make a duplicate copy of the hard drive and attendant storage media of the computer seized on August 8, 2013, from Christopher Sean Geanakos by Det. James Williams;
2. the duplicate copy of the hard drive and attendant storage media shall be made available to Marcus Lawson, or another computer forensic expert employed by Global CompuSearch, for the purpose of conducting an examination and analysis of the digital evidence on the computer to assist counsel in the defense of Mr. Geanakos;
3. the digital evidence may be viewed only at the Sacramento office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by defense counsel, Clyde M. Blackmon, Marcus Lawson, or another computer forensic expert employed by Global CompuSearch;
4. a private location will be provided for the defense examination of the duplicate hard drive and/or any attendant storage media;
5. the computer forensic expert is permitted to bring to the examination whatever equipment, books or records which he or she believes are necessary to conduct the examination;
6. the duplicate hard drive and/or any attendant storage media shall not be removed from the Sacramento office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
7. except for materials which may be considered child pornography under federal or California law, including visual depictions and data capable of conversion into visual depictions, the computer forensic expert may download and remove files and portions of files from the duplicate hard drive and/or any attendant storage media, provided that the forensic integrity of the hard drive or attendant storage media is not altered;
8. when the examination of the duplicate hard drive and/or any attendant storage media is completed the expert shall certify in writing, using the attached certification, that he or she has not removed from the Sacramento office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation any materials considered to be child pornography, or data capable of being converted into child pornography, and that he or she has not caused any such materials to be transmitted by any means, including the electronic transfer of files, from the Sacramento office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
9. unless the expert fails to provide the certification specified in paragraph 8, no agent of the government shall inspect, or obtain in any manner, any of the materials or devices used by the expert in the examination and analysis of the digital evidence on the duplicate hard drive and/or any attendant storage media;
10. should the expert fail to provide the certification specified in paragraph 8, then agents of the government may inspect any materials or devices used by the expert in his or her examination or analysis for the purpose of determining whether any child pornography, or data capable of conversion into depictions of child pornography, has been removed or transmitted, by any means, from the Sacramento office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
11. when the defense indicates that it has completed its examination and analysis of the duplicate hard drive and/or any attendant storage media the duplicate hard drive and any storage media shall be "wiped" clean; and
12. any disputes or problems which arise in the implementation of this Order shall be brought to the attention of the Court by counsel only after consultation with opposing counsel.
IT IS SO ORDERED.