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The following is a chronological list of opinions issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that involve or touch on some aspect of computer forensics. Every effort is being made to locate relevant decisions; however, this list is intended as a research aid only, and should not be considered definitive.
Anyone conducting legal research on a particular topic or in a specific jurisdiction is advised to supplement these materials with their own efforts or those of a qualified attorney.
If you have any suggestions for decisions that should be added to this list, please email them to me using the contact form.
2011
United States v. Garza, No. 09-50222 (9th Cir. 1-11-2011) [Unpublished] -- Sentence affirmed -- Defendant was convicted of receiving child pornography and was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Defendant argued that the district court inappropriately enhanced his sentence two levels for sadistic or masochistic content, and two levels for using a computer. The Court of Appeals said that record makes it clear that the material received by defendant included sadistic or masochistic images. The Court also noted that defendant not only used a computer to receive child pornography, but also to send the contraband to minor girls. The Court also rejected defendant's other challenges to his sentence (none of which dealt with forensics issues) and affirmed the district court's rulings.
2010
U.S. v. Marinko, No. 09-30430 (9th Cir. 10-22-2010) [Unpublished] — Defendant plead guilty to possession and transportation of child pornography. He appealed the District Court's refusal to suppress images found on his computer, arguing that he was coerced by the FBI into giving consent to the search of his computer. The Court of Appeals upheld the District Court's ruling, agreeing that there was nothing coercive about the FBI's 90-minute visit to Defendant's home. Defendant's consent to a forensic search of his computer, the Court concluded, was given "freely and voluntarily."
U.S. v. Kuba, No. 09-10367 (9th Cir. 7-8-2010) [Unpublished] -- Defendant appealed district court's denial of motion to suppress evidence seized from home computer, arguing a lack of probable cause and staleness. Appeals Court found that there was sufficient evidence to support probable cause -- subscription to "a certain website," the likehood of downloads, and the ability of law enforcement to retrieve deleted images. Court also held that passage of 12 months between subscription and search warrant was not ipso facto grounds for a finding of staleness. In particular, Court noted that there was a "fair probability" that contraband images had not been deleted, and "that evidence of the images could still be obtained from the computer."
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