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CA11: Qualified immunity applies to DA's investigator who subpoenaed electronic communications

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

In a qualified immunity case, the plaintiff cannot show that this right to be free from subpoena of personal emails was well established, particularly in light of Quon which chose not to decided the broad question of privacy in electronic communications as the technology evolves. Rehberg v. Paulk, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 14589 (11th Cir. July 16, 2010)*: As these varied cases suggest, the questions of whether Fourth Amendment principles governing a search of Rehberg's home also should apply to subpoenas sent to a third-party ISP for electronic data stored on the third-party's server, and whether Rehberg had a reasonable privacy expectation in the contents of his personal emails sent voluntarily through that third-party ISP, are complex, difficult, and "far-reaching" legal issues that we should be cautious about resolving too broadly...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 19, 2010 (boomark / email).