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DJDLQVWDSHUVRQZKRLV³DJJULHYHGE\DQ\YLRODWLRQRIWKLV           Guest J.A. at 69-70; O’Brien J.A. at 242-43.
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  1. Seizure of Computer Contents                                 EHFDXVH WKH ODFN RI D SUHVHL]XUH KHDULQJ ULVNHG WKH
                                                                  ³DEULGJPHQW RI WKH ULJKW RI WKH SXEOLF LQ D IUHH VRFLHW\ WR
  The warrant authorized the seizure of personal                  XQREVWUXFWHGFLUFXODWLRQRIQRQREVFHQHERRNV´$4XDQWLW\
communications related to the offense. Although there were        RI&RSLHV86DW
presumably communications on the computers that did not
relate to the offenses, "[a] search does not become invalid          7KHUH LV QRW KRZHYHU DQ DEVROXWH ULJKW WR D SULRU
merely because some items not covered by a warrant are            DGYHUVDULDOKHDULQJLQFDVHVZKHUHDOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDO
seized." United States v. Henson, 848 F.2d 1374, 1383 (6th        LV VHL]HG WR SUHVHUYH HYLGHQFH LQ D FULPLQDO SURVHFXWLRQ
Cir. 1988). In Henson, a case affirming convictions involving     +HOOHUY1HZ<RUN863ROLFHDUH
false odometer statements, we rejected a Fourth Amendment         SHUPLWWHG WR VHL]H HYLGHQFH RI D FULPH²HYHQ H[SUHVVLYH
challenge to the seizure of documents and computer files that     PDWHULDOV²LIWKHVHL]XUHLVSXUVXDQWWRDYDOLGZDUUDQW,Q
were unrelated to the offenses because we concluded that it       +HOOHUSROLFHZLWKDZDUUDQWVHL]HGRQHFRS\RIDQDOOHJHGO\
would have been unreasonable to require police to sort            REVFHQH ILOP  7KH 6XSUHPH &RXUW GLG QRW ILQG D )LUVW
through extensive files in a suspect’s office in order to         $PHQGPHQWYLRODWLRQKROGLQJWKDW
separate out those items that were outside the warrant. Id. at
1383-84; see also Davis v. Gracey, 111 F.3d 1472, 1481 (10th        >L@IVXFKDVHL]XUHLVSXUVXDQWWRDZDUUDQWLVVXHGDIWHUD
Cir. 1997) (finding no Fourth Amendment violation when              GHWHUPLQDWLRQRISUREDEOHFDXVHE\DQHXWUDOPDJLVWUDWH
defendants seized a bulletin board system computer that             DQG IROORZLQJ WKH VHL]XUH D SURPSW MXGLFLDO
contained personal communications unrelated to the crime            GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI WKH REVFHQLW\ LVVXH LQ DQ DGYHUVDU\
under investigation); United States v. Hay, 231 F.3d 630, 637-      SURFHHGLQJLVDYDLODEOHDWWKHUHTXHVWRIDQ\LQWHUHVWHG
38 (9th Cir. 2000) (finding no Fourth Amendment violation           SDUW\WKHVHL]XUHLVFRQVWLWXWLRQDOO\SHUPLVVLEOH
in the search and seizure of a computer system in a child         ,G DW   7KH &RXUW HPSKDVL]HG WKDW 0DUFXV DQG $
pornography investigation); United States v. Upham, 168 F.3d      4XDQWLW\RI&RSLHV³FRQFHUQHGWKHVHL]XUHRIODUJHTXDQWLWLHV
532, 536 (1st Cir. 1999) (same). In the instant cases, when       RIERRNVIRUWKHVROHSXUSRVHRIWKHLUGHVWUXFWLRQ´,GDW
the seizures occurred, defendants were unable to separate         ³>:@KHUHDOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDOLVVHL]HGSXUVXDQWWRD
relevant files from unrelated files, so they took the computers   ZDUUDQW WR SUHVHUYH WKH PDWHULDO DV HYLGHQFH LQ D FULPLQDO
to be able to sort out the documents off-site. Because of the     SURVHFXWLRQ´ WKHUH LV QR DEVROXWH )LUVW RU )RXUWHHQWK
technical difficulties of conducting a computer search in a       $PHQGPHQWULJKWWRDSULRUDGYHUVDU\KHDULQJ,GDW,Q
suspect’s home, the seizure of the computers, including their     GLFWDWKH&RXUWZDUQHGWKDWLIWKHH[KLELWRUPDGHDVKRZLQJ
content, was reasonable in these cases to allow police to         WRWKHWULDOFRXUWWKDWKHGLGQRWKDYHRWKHUFRSLHVRIWKHILOP
locate the offending files.                                       DYDLODEOH ³WKH FRXUW VKRXOG SHUPLW WKH VHL]HG ILOP WR EH
                                                                  FRSLHGVRWKDWVKRZLQJFDQEHFRQWLQXHGSHQGLQJDMXGLFLDO
  2. E-mail Search                                                GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI WKH REVFHQLW\ LVVXH LQ DQ DGYHUVDU\
                                                                  SURFHHGLQJ2WKHUZLVHWKHILOPPXVWEHUHWXUQHG´,GDW
   Plaintiffs also allege that defendants read their e-mail, an   IRRWQRWHVRPLWWHG
allegation defendants deny. Plaintiffs rely for evidence on the
following. A plaintiff testified as an expert witness that          ,QWKHLQVWDQWFDVHV5(&,WRRNWKHFRPSXWHUVWRHVWDEOLVK
certain log records were missing from the Guest CCC BBS           HYLGHQFHRIFULPLQDOYLRODWLRQVDVLQ+HOOHU7KH\RSHUDWHG
computers when the computers were returned; these logs            ZLWKDZDUUDQWDQGDSULRUGHWHUPLQDWLRQRIREVFHQLW\E\D
normally keep a record of the use of the computer, and the        PDJLVWUDWH XQOLNH WKH 0DUFXV FDVH  7KHUH ZDV QR PDVV
       *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO                1RV               1RV              *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO   

  F. Qualified Immunity                                                               expert testified that defendants must have deleted the log files
                                                                                      or prevented them from generating. The Guest plaintiffs also
  According to plaintiffs, "Defendants Leis, Hamilton County                          refer to a paper printout of the computer directories, which
Sheriff’s Department and RECI cannot assert qualified                                 showed defendants’ check marks next to several directory
immunity" as "political subdivisions." Guest Br. at 46.                               names, including a directory labeled "e-mail."
Qualified immunity may be asserted by government officials
sued in their individual capacity. Harlow, 457 U.S. at 807.                              The printout and absence of log files are not evidence that
As the district court granted qualified immunity only to the                          the defendants read private communications. Plaintiffs are
individual defendants, plaintiffs’ objections about immunity                          essentially relying on an assumption that because defendants
for the sheriff’s department and RECI are unfounded. Sheriff                          could have read e-mail, there is evidence that they did read e-
Leis was sued in his individual capacity (as well as in his                           mail. Defendants may legitimately have checked to see that
official capacity), so he may properly assert the defense in his                      the contents of the directories corresponded to the labels
individual capacity. Because we have concluded that there                             placed on the directories. Suspects would otherwise be able
were no Fourth Amendment violations, the individual                                   to shield evidence from a search simply by "misfiling" it in a
defendants are all entitled to qualified immunity on the Fourth                       directory labeled "e-mail." In the Guest case, defendants had
Amendment claims asserted against them in their individual                            a list of file names and thus could conduct their search by
capacities.                                                                          reviewing the file names in a directory, without actually
                                                                                      opening the files and viewing the contents. While we
                          ,,,)LUVW$PHQGPHQW                                        construe the facts on summary judgment in the light most
                                                                                      favorable to the nonmoving party, "[t]he mere existence of a
   3ODLQWLIIV DOOHJH WKDW WKH GHIHQGDQWV YLRODWHG WKHLU )LUVW                  scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff’s position will
$PHQGPHQWULJKWVE\VHL]LQJDQGVKXWWLQJGRZQWKHEXOOHWLQ                            be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury
ERDUG V\VWHPV WKXV HIIHFWLQJ D SULRU UHVWUDLQW RQ VSHHFK                    could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Mitchell v. Toledo
7KH\UHO\RQWZR6XSUHPH&RXUWFDVHVZKLFKHVWDEOLVKHGD                              Hosp., 964 F.2d 577, 581 (6th Cir. 1992) (quoting Anderson
JHQHUDO UXOH WKDW SROLFH FDQQRW PDNH PDVV VHL]XUHV RI                         v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252 (1986)). Plaintiffs’
DOOHJHGO\REVFHQHPDWHULDOZLWKRXWDSULRUDGYHUVDULDOMXGLFLDO                       assumptions are insufficient to establish a genuine issue of
GHWHUPLQDWLRQ RI REVFHQLW\  6HH $ 4XDQWLW\ RI &RSLHV RI                     fact regarding an e-mail search.
%RRNV Y .DQVDV  86   0DUFXV Y 6HDUFK
:DUUDQWV  86    ,Q $ 4XDQWLW\ RI &RSLHV                      3. Search of Subscriber Information
SROLFHVHL]HGFRSLHVRIQRYHOVDIWHUH[SDUWHMXGLFLDO
H[DPLQDWLRQ RI VHYHQ RI WKH DOOHJHGO\ REVFHQH ERRNV  $                        Plaintiffs argue that defendants violated the Fourth
4XDQWLW\RI&RSLHV86DW,Q0DUFXVSROLFH                            Amendment by accessing bulletin board subscriber
VHL]HG DSSUR[LPDWHO\  FRSLHV RI  SXEOLFDWLRQV                         information. These records include information such as
ZLWKRXWDSULRUMXGLFLDOGHWHUPLQDWLRQRIREVFHQLW\0DUFXV                         subscribers’ names, addresses, birthdates, and passwords. As
86DW6XFKVHL]XUHVYLRODWHGWKH)LUVW$PHQGPHQW                          we have noted above, a person must have a reasonable
                                                                                      expectation of privacy in the matter searched in order to
     
                                                                                      challenge a search under the Fourth Amendment. Individuals
     3ODLQWLIIV   DUJXH   WKDW   GHIHQGDQWV   DUH   QRW   HQWLWOHG   WR   TXDOLILHG   generally lose a reasonable expectation of privacy in their
LPPXQLW\ EHFDXVH WKH RIILFHUV GLG QRW IROORZ WKH DGYLFH RI WKH SURVHFXWRUV
                                                                                      information once they reveal it to third parties. See United
ZKR UHYLHZHG WKH ZDUUDQW         6LQFH ZH KDYH IRXQG QR FRQVWLWXWLRQDO
YLRODWLRQ WKH DGYLFH RI WKH SURVHFXWRUV LV LUUHOHYDQW WR RXU GHFLVLRQ
                                                                                      States v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435, 443 (1976), limited by statute.
   *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO         1RV       1RV              *XHVWHWDOY/HLVHWDO   

A bank customer, for instance, does not have a legitimate            D. Particularity
expectation of privacy in the information that he or she has
conveyed to the bank; by placing the information under                Plaintiffs argue that the warrant failed to describe with
control of a third party, the customer assumes the risk that the   sufficient particularity the things to be seized. They seem to
bank will convey the information to the government. Id.            base this argument on the warrant’s failure to particularly
Courts have applied this principle to computer searches and        identify communications or subscriber information. A search
seizures to conclude that computer users do not have a             warrant must particularly describe the things to be seized, but
legitimate expectation of privacy in their subscriber              the description, whose specificity will vary with the
information because they have conveyed it to another               circumstances of the case, will be "valid if it is as specific as
personthe system operator. See Maxwell, 45 M.J. at 418;           the circumstances and the nature of the activity under
United States v. Kennedy, 81 F. Supp. 2d 1103, 1110 (D. Kan.       investigation permit." Henson, 848 F.2d at 1383 (quoting
2000) (rejecting a privacy interest in subscriber information      United States v. Blum, 753 F.2d 999, 1001 (11th Cir. 1985)).
communicated to an internet service provider); United States
v. Hambrick, No. 99-4793, 2000 WL 1062039, at *4 (4th Cir.           In the instant cases, the warrants required that the
Aug. 3, 2000) (unpublished) (holding that defendant                communications and computer records pertain to the listed
destroyed any privacy interest in his subscriber information       offenses. Defendants could not have obtained more specific
when he conveyed it to an internet service provider) (citing       identification of e-mails and subscriber data, which were not
Miller, 425 U.S. at 442). We conclude that plaintiffs in these     accessible to them. The description was thus particular
cases lack a Fourth Amendment privacy interest in their            enough as the circumstances permitted for these items.
subscriber information because they communicated it to the         Moreover, since plaintiffs have not established that their
systems operators. In addition, in the O’Brien case,               communications were searched, there would be no harm from
subscriber information would be that of the users, who do not      an alleged defect in the warrant regarding any of the
have Fourth Amendment standing.                                    communications.

  4. Software Search                                                 E. Probable Cause

  Plaintiffs also assert that defendants exceeded the scope of        Plaintiffs assert that the warrants did not state "probable
the warrant when they searched for unlicenced software. The        cause to believe that the Plaintiffs’ public and private
only individual with a privacy interest in the software would      communications, and their subscriber information, was
be the person possessing the software, i.e., the computer’s        evidence of a crime." Guest Brief at 43. Plaintiffs do not
owner or the system operator. In the Guest case, the owner         dispute in their briefs that defendants had probable cause to
and bulletin board operator, Robert Emerson, is not a party to     search for evidence of crimes on the computers. As we have
the case. In the O’Brien case, although the owner and              already determined, the difficulty of locating and extracting
operator are parties, the warrant listed the offense of            these images meant that a seizure of the whole computer
"possession of unlicenced property," so the search for             system was not unreasonable, so long as there was probable
unlicenced software in that case was clearly authorized by the     cause to conclude that evidence of a crime would be found on
warrant.                                                           the computer. An analysis of probable cause to search the
                                                                   materials is unnecessary since plaintiffs have failed to
                                                                   establish that their communications were searched, and they
                                                                   lack a privacy interest in their subscriber information.
