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United States v. Hambrick

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia

55 F. Supp. 2d 504 (1999)

Facts

Detective J. L. McLaughlin was an officer with the Keene, New Hampshire, Police Department. McLaughlin entered an online chatroom and began communicating with someone who was using the screenname Blowuinva. Based on these conversations, McLaughlin determined that Blowuinva was trying to lure a 14-year-old boy to live with him. McLaughlin obtained a subpoena and served it on Blowuinva’s internet service provider (ISP), MindSpring, seeking all information related to Blowuinva’s internet protocol (IP) address. In response, MindSpring gave the name, address, phone numbers, and other personal information of Scott Hambrick (defendant) to McLaughlin. MindSpring also confirmed that Hambrick’s MindSpring account was on the internet at Blowuinva’s IP address. Ultimately, the government acknowledged that the subpoena was invalid, because the justice of the peace who signed it did not have the issue before him and was McLaughlin’s colleague at the Keene Police Department. Hambrick, relying on the Fourth Amendment, filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained from MindSpring pursuant to the subpoena.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Michael, J.)

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A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

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