NACDL - Model Motion to Suppress Contents of an Internet Account Bases on Unlawful Preservation

Model Motion to Suppress Contents of an Internet Account Bases on Unlawful Preservation

This motion to suppress may be filed when the contents of an Internet account were preserved under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(f) before the government obtained a warrant to disclose the account contents under § 2703(a). The motion explains why preservation is a Fourth Amendment seizure that requires probable cause or at least reasonable suspicion. Because the government ordinarily uses § 2703(f) without any particularized suspicion, the contents of the account must be suppressed as a fruit of the unlawful preservation seizure