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A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that law enforcement can legally scan or swipe a seized credit card—in fact, it is not a Fourth Amendment search at all, so it doesn’t require a warrant.
In the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals’ 15-page opinion, swiping a card does not constitute a physical search, as the magnetic stripe simply contains the same information obviously visible on the front of the card. Plus, the defendant, Eric-Arnaud Benjamin Briere De L'Isle, couldn’t have had a reasonable privacy interest in the card, the court concluded, because he would have tried to use it when he tried to buy something, thereby giving up privacy interests to a third party (the issuing bank).
According to court records in United States v. De L’Isle, the case began in June 2014 when Eric-Arnaud Benjamin Briere De L'Isle was driving westbound on I-80 and was pulled over by a Seward County, Nebraska, sheriff’s deputy.
The deputy, Sgt. Michael Vance, pulled over De L’Isle (also known as “Briere”) for following too close to a tractor-trailer. As Sgt. Vance approached the car, he noticed the distinct “odor of burnt marijuana” coming from within the car, and he observed three air fresheners hanging from the rear-view mirror. After questioning De L’Isle, Sgt. Vance suspected that the driver might have drugs, so he deployed his drug-sniffing dog.
While no drugs were located, the law enforcement agent found and seized:
…51 credit, gift, and debit cards in a duffel bag located in the vehicle’s trunk. Ten of the cards were American Express credit cards, all bearing Briere’s name, with different account numbers embossed on the fronts of the cards. A number of the debit and gift cards also had account numbers embossed on them, but none bore Briere’s name. Some of the cards were in wrapping utilized by the issuing company to display the cards in retail stores.
Later, upon further investigation by the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security, “The agents discovered the magnetic strips on the back of the 10 American Express credit cards in Briere’s name contained no account holder identification or account information which exists on legitimate American Express cards when they are issued.”
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 15 2016, @10:56PM
A person who possesses 20 phones is a clear outlier, statistically speaking. You should be pleased to see cops using math to gauge probable cause.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Dunbal on Thursday June 16 2016, @12:16AM
So what makes an outlier then? 10 phones? 15 phones? 5 phones? Which number, exactly, is the "allowed" or "normal" quantity of phones?
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Thursday June 16 2016, @03:13AM
So what makes an outlier then? 10 phones? 15 phones? 5 phones? Which number, exactly, is the "allowed" or "normal" quantity of phones?
Don't know. Depends on the mean and standard deviation of the number of phones per subscriber? I'm sure several TLAs know those statistics.
"Outlier" is just someone with significantly more or less phones than average. Whether being an outlier is suspicious depends on paranoa.
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 16 2016, @09:00AM
Why is owning "too many phones" reasonable cause for a full search and a criminal investigation?
Is owning too many socks reasonable cause? What about pens? Or pieces of paper? Or Snickers bars? Or...
Do you see where this is going? Or are you too dense and drowning in LEO brand Kool-aid?
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Thursday June 16 2016, @11:29AM
Why is owning "too many phones" reasonable cause for a full search and a criminal investigation?
Did you miss this bit?
Whether being an outlier is suspicious depends on paranoia.
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 16 2016, @11:06AM
You are an outlier simply by virtue of posting here. I hope you are ready, doggy.
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Thursday June 16 2016, @11:32AM
You are an outlier simply by virtue of posting here. I hope you are ready, doggy.
And by not having a facebook account... oh shit!
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 16 2016, @01:38PM
If you are walking around with 5 phones on you my curiosity would be piqued.
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Thursday June 16 2016, @12:51AM
The government shouldn't be able to harass outliers, either. The mere possibility that someone could commit a crime with something should never be reason to search someone.