U.S. v. Ickes

1 Analyses of this case by attorneys

  1. Confidential Information Should Be Encrypted or Not Stored on Laptops

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLPRonald LondonNovember 10, 2006

    See Joe Sharkey, At U.S. Borders, Laptops Have No Privacy, N.Y. Times, October 24, 2006, at C 8. Both the Fourth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal have held that Customs officers may conduct routine searches of laptops without a warrant, without probable cause, and without a reasonable suspicion of illegal conduct. See United States v. Romm, 455 F.3d 990, 996-97 (9th Cir. 2006); United States v. Ickes, 393 F.3d 501, 503-07 (4th Cir. 2005). Although a trial court in the Ninth Circuit recently ruled that Customs officers may not search a laptop or other electronic files without at least a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, United States v. Arnold, 2006 WL 2861592 (C.D. Cal. October 2, 2006), appeal docketed, No. 06-50581 (9th Cir.October 23, 2006), it is unclear whether that decision will survive on appeal.