In the post-Dobbs landscape, states are criminalizing reproductive health in a variety of ways. Law enforcement will likely reach for digital surveillance tools in these cases and defenders will need to know how to counter that evidence. NACDL's Criminalization of Reproductive Health Taskforce and 4th Amendment Center researched categories of pregnancy criminalization, connected them to types of surveillance that law enforcement might use, and connected those to resources. Some tools show up several times on this page, which speaks to the omnipresence of these types of surveillance. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) searches the digital devices of people at border crossings and at ports of entry without a warrant and without suspicion. Criminal defense lawyers are uniquely exposed to abuse in this context, as their devices store privileged communications and work product. NACDL recently released a primer on the border searches of electronic devices. Drawing from the primer, this webinar will empower members of the defense community to be proactive in protecting their sensitive documents and communications when re-entering the country.

From encrypting your documents, texts and emails to using a private Internet browser, this webinar walks through a curated list of tools and tricks designed to protect your work product, your technology, your clients, and your cases.

Nearly every case involves a cell phone or an online account. Laws on device and account searches are continuing to evolve, as courts reconsider old doctrines that do not fit with the realities of the digital age. Below, find sample motions on suppressing emails, passcodes, and other electronically stored information.

For attorneys representing criminal defendants, court decisions on search and seizure often seem to overwhelmingly favor the interests of law enforcement. This document compiles over 30 years of cases in which defendants and civil rights plaintiffs have prevailed. It hopes to provide raw material for criminal defense lawyers to fashion suppression motions, based on chronology and causation, that can enforce their clients’ rights against government overreach while supporting an expansive view of the Fourth Amendment’s protections. 

This comment from the Fourth Amendment Center addresses the National Institute of Standards and Technology's report "Digital Investigation Techniques: A Scientific Foundation Review."

In recent years, the government has increasingly turned to hacking as an investigative technique. Specifically, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) has begun deploying malware: software designed to infiltrate and control, disable, or surveil a computer’s use and activity.

NACDL adopts a report and recommendations on law enforcement searches of digital evidence.

Geofence warrants, a type of reverse search warrant, compel companies, like Google, to turn over substantial information about devices interacting with their technology within a particular geographic region. For this reason, geofence warrants mark an unprecedented increase in the government's ability to locate individuals without investigation. This primer will show you how geofence warrants are constructed and outline strategies to challenge these warrants when they appear in criminal cases. 

10-cv-04059-ERK (E.D.N.Y.)

NACDL commenced a lawsuit with the ACLU challenging a U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy that authorizes searches of the contents of travelers’ laptop computers and other electronic storage devices at border crossings, notwithstanding the absence of probable cause, reasonable suspicion or any indicia of wrongdoing. Filed in the Eastern District of New York, the suit sought to enjoin future enforcement of the policy. NACDL was both a plaintiff and co-counsel in the case, which was dismissed in December 2013 and pending reconsideration as of April 2014.

Courts have long made it clear that agents can search the bags of people entering the country. For the past decade or so, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has applied that logic to digital devices. NACDL members are uniquely exposed to abuse in this context: digital devices store materials and information subject to the attorney-client privilege and attorney work-product doctrine, as well as information on overseas clients and witnesses, and other extremely sensitive materials that could be covered by Rule 1.6 of the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility.

Courts have long made it clear that agents can search the bags of people entering the country. For the past decade or so, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has applied that logic to digital devices. NACDL members are uniquely exposed to abuse in this context: digital devices store materials and information subject to the attorney-client privilege and attorney work-product doctrine, as well as information on overseas clients and witnesses, and other extremely sensitive materials that could be covered by Rule 1.6 of the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility.

Digital Forensics Guide Cell Phone Location and Tracking Forensics. 

Brief of Amici Curiae Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, ACLU of Wisconsin, Inc., and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Defendant-Appellant.

Brief of Amici Curiae Electronic Frontier Foundation, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), CAIR California, CAIR Florida, CAIR New York, CAIR Ohio, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Defendant-Appellant.