Digital Dirt Blawg

Cerome v. United States, 08-CV-04019 (NGG) (E.D.N.Y. 1-14-2011)

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 01:51:59 GMT

Alleged Fourth Amendment Error Rejected -- Defendant was convicted of three counts of robbery. Following affirmation of his conviction by the Second Circuit, defendant filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging various instances ineffective assistance of counsel.

United States v. Self, No. 09-51012 Summary Calendar (5th Cir. 1-14-2011) [Unpublished]

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:35:57 GMT

Denial of Motion to Suppress Affirmed -- Defendant was convicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base (crack) and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack).

United States v. Poulin, No. 10-1126 (1st Cir. 1-7-2011)

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:52:16 GMT

Conviction Affirmed -- Defendant was convicted of production of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and appealed. In 1999, defendant moved in with a woman and her six children in a home in Maine. One of the children was a 13-year-old girl.

United States v. Hernandez, No. CR 08-0730 WHA (N.D. Calif. 1-6-2011)

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:54:14 GMT

Motion to Suppress Granted -- San Francisco police officers observed three men whom they believed to be members of the MS-13 gang standing in front of a restaurant. A no-loitering sign was posted in the restaurant window. The officers watched the men for a few minutes, but observed no threatening or gang-related behavior. The officers approached the men to advise them about the no-loitering policy, and despite the lack of any threatening behavior, conducted a pat-down search of each one.

United States v. Rodriguez, 2:10-CR-235 JCM (PAL) (Nev. 1-18-2011)

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:02:53 GMT

Motion to Suppress Granted in Part and Denied in Part -- A search warrant was issued authorizing law enforcement agents to search for and seize evidence relating to two separate alleged crimes: drug trafficking and the manufacture of explosive devices. During the execution of the warrant, agents located and seized three marijuana pipes and three Dell computers. Defendant moved to suppress the computers, arguing that there was no probable cause for the search relating to drug trafficking.

United States v. Oladokun, Criminal No. 10-267 (ESH) (D.C. 1-14-2011)

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:21:08 GMT

Motion to Suppress Denied -- Defendant was a target of an investigation into an "account takeover" scam. Based on the results of their investigation, law enforcement agents applied for and received search warrants for the apartment of defendant's girlfriend, and a silver-colored Lexus automobile, which contained a laptop with relevant evidence.

Makeen v. Comcast of Colorado X, LLC, Civil Action No. 09-cv-02595-WYD-MEH (Colo. 1-11-2011)

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:34:00 GMT

Motion for Rule 37 Sanctions Denied -- Plaintiff sued defendant, alleging a variety of injuries related to his employment termination. The defendant denied the charges, contending that plaintiff was fired for using one of the defendant's static IP addresses to operate a commercial pornography Web site.

United States v. Courtright, No. 09-2880 (S.D. Ill. 1-13-2011)

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 01:19:56 GMT

Conviction affirmed -- Defendant was convicted of production, possession, and receipt of child pornography, and was sentenced to life plus ten years in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred by admitting evidence of a prior sexual assault, and by issuing improper jury instructions.

Pegasus Imaging Corp. v. Northrop Grumman Corp., Case No. 8:07-CV-1937-T-27 EAJ (M.D. ...

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:42:23 GMT

Motion in Limine Denied -- A computer forensics expert hired by plaintiff testified that certain computer files known as "OCA files" were a integral part of plaintiff's software and could not be created without using plaintiff's software. Defendant moved to suppress the expert's conclusory testimony on the grounds that he was unqualified and used unreliable methodology to reach his conclusion. See Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993).

United States v. Garza, No. 09-50222 (9th Cir. 1-11-2011) [Unpublished]

fslane3@gmail.com (admin) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:55:05 GMT

Sentence affirmed -- Defendant was convicted of receiving child pornography and was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Defendant argued that the district court inappropriately enhanced his sentence two levels for sadistic or masochistic content, and two levels for using a computer. The Court of Appeals said that record was clear that the material received by defendant included sadistic or masochistic images. The Court also noted that defendant not only used a computer to receive child pornography, but also used it to send the contraband to minor girls. The Court also rejected defendant's other challenges to his sentence (none of which dealt with forensics issues) and affirmed the district court's rulings.