Source: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-4th-circuit/1621184.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FindLaw4th+%28FindLaw+Case+Law+Updates+-+4th+Circuit+COA%29
Timestamp: 2014-04-21 10:44:19
Document Index: 21180020

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2703', '§ 2701', '§ 2703', '§ 2703', '§ 2703', '§ 2703', '§ 2703', '§ 2703', '§ 2705', '§ 2703', '§ 2703', '§ 2703', '§ 2703']

IN RE: APPLICATION OF the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR AN ORDER PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 2703(D), No. 11–5151., January 25, 2013 - US 4th Circuit | FindLaw
IN RE: APPLICATION OF the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR AN ORDER PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 2703(D) United States of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Jacob Appelbaum; Rop Gonggrijp; Birgitta Jonsdottir, Defendants–Appellants, Twitter, Incorporated, Defendant.
No. 11–5151.
Argued Oct. 26, 2012. -- January 25, 2013
ARGUED:Aden J. Fine, American Civil Liberties Union, New York, New York, for Appellants. Andrew Peterson, Office of the United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF:Cindy A. Cohn, Lee Tien, Marcia Hofman, Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, California, Rebecca K. Glen-berg, American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Foundation, Inc., Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant Birgitta Jonsdottir; Rachael E. Meny, John W. Keker, Steven P. Ragland, Keker & Van Nest LLP, San Francisco, California, John K. Zwerling, Stuart Sears, Zwerling, Leibig & Moseley, PC, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant Jacob Appelbaum; John D. Cline, Law Office of John D. Cline, San Francisco, California, K.C. Maxwell, Law Office of K.C. Maxwell, San Francisco, California, Nina J. Ginsberg, Dimuroginsberg, PC, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant Rop Gonggrijp. Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney, Lindsay Kelly, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.
OPINIONWe are called upon to determine the public's right to access orders issued under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d) and related documents at the pre-grand jury phase of an ongoing criminal investigation. Because we find that there is no First Amendment right to access such documents, and the common law right to access such documents is presently outweighed by countervailing interests, we deny the request for relief.I.A.Title II of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, commonly known as the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”), was enacted to protect the privacy of users of electronic communications by criminalizing the unauthorized access of the contents and transactional records of stored wire and electronic communications, while providing an avenue for law enforcement entities to compel a provider of electronic communication services to disclose the contents and records of electronic communications. Pub.L. No. 99–508, 100 Stat. 1848, 1868 (codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2711). As one Senator remarked, the SCA was “designed to protect legitimate law enforcement needs while minimizing intrusions on the privacy of system users as well as the business needs of electronic communications system providers.” 132 Cong. Rec. 14601 (1986) (statement of Sen. Leahy).To obtain records of stored electronic communications, such as a subscriber's name, address, length of subscription, and other like data, the government must secure either a warrant pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41, or a court order under 18 U.S .C. § 2703(d). 18 U.S.C. § 2703(c). Orders issued under § 2703(d) may be granted if the government “offers specific and articulable facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the contents of a wire or electronic communication, or the records or other information sought, are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation.” 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d). This is essentially a reasonable suspicion standard.In seeking access to records, the government need not give prior notice to the subscriber or customer. 18 U.S.C. § 2703(c)(3). The SCA also provides for gag orders, which direct the recipient of a § 2703(d) order to refrain from disclosing the existence of the order or investigation. See 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b).B.This case involves the § 2703(d) orders pertaining to the Government's request for records of electronic communications relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation. The underlying facts of the investigation, which are not presently before us, relate to the unauthorized release of classified documents to WikiLeaks.org, and the alleged involvement of Bradley E. Manning, a U.S. Army Private First Class.As part of its investigation, the Government petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and obtained an order pursuant to § 2703(d), from a magistrate judge (“Twitter Order”), directing Twitter, Inc. (“Twitter”) to disclose records of electronic communications pertaining to Appellants Jacob Appelbaum, Rop Gonggrijp, and Birgitta Jonsdottir (“Subscribers”).1 Specifically, the order directed Twitter to provide Subscribers' names, usernames, personal contact information, account information, connection records, financial data,2 length of service, direct messages to and from email addresses and Internet Protocol addresses for all communications between November 1, 2009, and December 14, 2010.The issuing magistrate judge determined that prior notice “to any person” of the Twitter Order, the Government's application for the Twitter Order (“Twitter Application”), and the ongoing criminal investigation, would “seriously jeopardize the investigation.” Consequently, the magistrate judge sealed the Twitter Order and Application, and directed Twitter not to disclose their existence, or the investigation to any person unless and until otherwise ordered by the court. On January 5, 2011, upon the Government's motion, the magistrate judge unsealed the Twitter Order and authorized Twitter to disclose the order to Subscribers.On January 26, 2011, Subscribers moved the court to vacate the Twitter Order, unseal all documents relating to the Twitter Order, and unseal and publicly docket any other § 2703(d) orders on the subject of the investigation pertaining to Subscribers that were issued to companies other than Twitter (“Other § 2703(d) Orders”).Following a hearing on the motions, the mag