United States v. Christie
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
717 F.3d 1156 (2013)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Rebecca Christie (defendant) was convicted of murder and child abuse in connection with her three-year-old daughter’s death from dehydration. The evidence at trial, much of which came from Christie’s seized computer, established that Christie was a zealous gamer and ignored the child, essentially locking the child away without food or water for 14 or more hours a day. On appeal, Christie argued that a warrant for the search of her computer violated the Fourth Amendment’s particularity requirement. The warrant authorized a search of Christie’s computer for all records and information relating to the murder, neglect, and abuse of the child from her birthdate to the date of the computer’s seizure, including all records and information, such as diaries and calendars, showing the day-to-day activities of Christie and the child. Christie argued that permitting a search of all records and information showing her day-to-day activities effectively permitted a search of her computer for any and all purposes. The government (plaintiff) maintained that its search was restricted by the warrant’s opening language authorizing a search for information relating to the alleged crimes.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gorsuch, J.)
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