They Said…

… If I voted Republican that police would seize computer systems. And they were right!^ It is a tale of extraordinary overstep by police based on the most extraordinary evidence! A computer science student that can use the command line in a Unix system. Who would have thunk it! –

On Friday, EFF and the law firm of Fish and Richardson filed an emergency motion to quash [pdf] and for the return of seized property on behalf of a Boston College computer science student whose computers, cell phone, and other property were seized as part of an investigation into who sent an e-mail to a school mailing list identifying another student as gay. The problem? Not only is there no indication that any crime was committed, the investigating officer argued that the computer expertise of the student itself supported a finding of probable cause to seize the student’s property.

So lets see. The selection of an occupation is the basis for a warrant in principle due to the fact that the student can operate the computer from the command line. See warrant. Boy that would be music to Microsoft ears. I could hear the commercials now — “Don’t be a thug and a criminal. Use the Windows GUI!”

The EFF and the law firm of Fish and Richardson have filed a motion to quash. In the meantime the police still have the student’s hardware. Seems to be that review boards should start looking at the warrant practices of judges. This one seems to have all the earmarks of a hatchet job.

I better lock my doors and take down all my Penquin signs. Otherwise that next knock on my door might be for me….

Linky.

^With due attribution to Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.