Taking md5 hashes of files ruled the same as opening and reading files
2008-10-28 18:58:20.616497+00 by radix 1 comments
I'm a legal geek (but not a lawyer). Found this on Volokh: http://www.volokh.com/archives...0_26-2008_11_01.shtml#1225159904
Figured the free speech and technical assessments would be of interest to many here. Note that the gov't missed an opportunity to try to apply precedent from drug-sniffing dogs, so there may be more evolution of caselaw on this particular issue.
Synopsis: Guy is getting evicted, some guy hired by the landlord gets his stuff, including a computer. Finds kiddie porn pic, calls cops. Cops did not get warrant before collecting an image of the hd and extracting MD5 signatures from the drive. Prosecutor claims that 'hashing' files isn't a search. Judge disagrees, bars evidence.