Intent and Concepts
Digital Crime embraces any crimes conducted against computers and computer networks or using computers as a means of committing the crime. Upon certification of the occurrence of the crime, the police or any other constitutionally approved authority may search and seize the digital tools used to commit a crime (Hunter, 2017). The intent of the search and seizure law is to permit access to digital tools suspected to have been used to commit a digital crime allowing possible trial and eventual conviction of the suspected criminal. Fundamentally, the concept of search and seizure law in digital crime covers the required prepared procedures for users to gain access to a digital tool used in a criminal activity. Additionally, the law provides for interpretation of the circumstances leading to search and seizure constitutionally because unreasonable search and seizure are illegal (Kerr, 2018).
Search and Seizure without a Warrant
Search and seizure require a warrant but there are situations where digital evidence can be obtained without a search warrant. Firstly, the party being searched may voluntarily consent to be searched. Secondly, the doctrine of “exigent circumstances” could apply, where a reasonable person could agree that destruction of evidence is imminent (Kennedy, 2017). Thirdly, the law enforcement agencies can search without a warrant if the evidence in question is in plain view. Lastly, boarders searchers at crossing points may not require a search warrant and evidence resulting from similar searches might be used for prosecution purposes. Nevertheless, warrantless searches of digital evidence have limitations and the greatest limitation is they searches are per se unacceptable. Secondly, with reference to the third warrantless search situation mentioned here, the digital evidence in plain view of the search agent may not be apparently incriminating (Kennedy, 2017).
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References
Hunter, D. (2017). Cyberspace as Place and the Tragedy of the Digital Anticommons. In Law and Society Approaches to Cyberspace (pp. 59-139). Routledge.
Kennedy, D. C. (2017). In Search of a Balance between Police Power and Privacy in the Cybercrime Treaty. In Computer Crime (pp. 205-264). Routledge.
Kerr, O. S. (2018). Computer Crime Law (2018).
