Question

In United States v. Forrester, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the issue of whether, without a search warrant, the government can obtain e-mail addresses and information regarding Internet sites visited through installation of a surveillance device at the location of the Internet service provider. How did the court rule?

Answer 1

Answer:

The court ruled that the government was allowed to obtain email addresses and information regarding internet sites visited, without a search warrant.

Explanation:

In United States v. Forrester, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the government and cited the ongoing use of pen registers by the government which collected telephone numbers dialed by a suspect, and did not require a search warrant to install.

The court explained that as long as the government wasn't accessing the content of the emails, then it was legal to obtain email and IP addresses by installing a surveillance device at the location of the Internet service provider, without a search warrant.