B. (§21.2) Types of Evidence, Examples
As types and prevalence of digital media proliferate, so too do the types of evidence that might be subject to disclosure, surveillance, and admission in court. Beyond standard computer files and associated metadata, often procured through imaging of computer hard drives, jump drives, servers, and other technologies, a wide range of other evidence has emerged. An email account, for example, transcends its contacts and message content; because email addresses are required for registration and notifications for online services, an email account can be a proxy for recreating outside accounts as well. E.g., In re Search of premises known as: Three Hotmail Email accounts, No. 16-MJ-8036-DJW, 2016 WL 1239916, at *13 (D. Kan. Mar. 28, 2016) (as “the home of a person’s identity,” “an email account may contain such an aggregate of information” from services like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and TurboTax “so as to constructively contain an image of those outside accounts”). See also the district court’s review of this ruling at In re Search of Information Associated With Email Addresses Stored at Premises Controlled by the Microsoft Corp., 212 F. Supp. 3d 1023 (D. Kan. 2016).
In the field of location monitoring alone, the U.S. Supreme Court has observed that “closed-circuit television video monitoring is becoming ubiquitous,” “automatic toll collection systems create a precise record of the movements of motorists,” and many vehicles now come “equipped with devices that permit a central station to ascertain the car’s location at any time.” United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400, 428 (2012) (Alito, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, J., concurring). Further, “cell phones and other wireless devices now permit wireless carriers to track and record the location of...
