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| -Land of the Free |
| Small town mayor relinquishes electronics and passwords to agents at SFO |
| 2015-10-05 |
| [ARSTECHNICA] Stockton, Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, Mayor Anthony R. Silva attended a recent mayor's conference in China, but his return trip took a bit longer than usual. At the the Socialist paradise of San Francisco ...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... International Airport (SFO) this week, agents with the Department of Homeland Security detained Silva and confiscated his personal cell phone among other electronics. According to comments from the mayor, that may not even be the most alarming part. "Unfortunately, they were not willing or able to produce a search warrant or any court documents suggesting they had a legal right to take my property," Silva told SFGate. "In addition, they were persistent about requiring my passwords for all devices." The mayor's attorney, Mark Reichel, told SFGate that Silva was not allowed to leave the airport without forfeiting his passwords. Reichel was not present for Silva's interaction with the DHS agents, either. The mayor was told he had "no right for a lawyer to be present" and that being a US citizen did not "entitle me to rights that I probably thought," according to the paper. As of Friday, Silva had not yet received his property from the SFO detention. SFGate reports Reichel contacted the US Attorney's Office in Sacramento, but they would not comment on whether they still had the mayor's possessions. The paper also reached out to a spokesperson at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but that office also refused comment. (Ars has reached out to the mayor's office for any new information, and we'll update this story accordingly if we hear back.) |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 Certainly he could afford an external hard drive or use drive to hold his illegal stuff. Is the mayor really that stupid or lazy to carry incriminating evidence with him out of the USA? |
| Posted by: Rjschwarz 2015-10-05 23:42 |
| #5 Rules from a 200-plus year old document apparently don't apply to the Homeland [In]Security - at least under Obama. He should have claimed to be an Illegal Alien from Iran and he would probably have been given an police escort to wherever he wanted. Funny how if this had happened under Bush the media would have been up in arms. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2015-10-05 16:31 |
| #4 I learned that most of your constitutional rights don't apply at the border but: "Silva was not allowed to leave the airport without forfeiting his passwords." He's an American citizen, right? Sounds like illegal coercion to me. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2015-10-05 14:53 |
| #3 If he used fingerprints to secure his phone than they can compel him to open it. Password, I would demand my right of habeas corpse and put it before a judge. The first thing that I would ask the judge is to allow me access to legal counsel. |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2015-10-05 14:35 |
| #2 Stockton is a currently corrupt bankrupt shithole. Who paid for this punk to take a trip to China? there seems to be more to this story , like an ongoing investigation of him. The search and password demand may be entirely legal: Legal rulings from more than 40 years ago found that border searches are protected by “a narrow exception to the Fourth Amendment prohibition against warrantless searches without probable cause” and “the reasonableness of a search or seizure depends on the totality of the circumstances, including the scope and duration of the deprivation.” Two years ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that for law enforcement to conduct a forensic examination of a returning international traveler’s computer, it must show a “reasonable suspicion, a modest requirement in light of the Fourth Amendment.” |
| Posted by: Frank G 2015-10-05 14:26 |
| #1 If they got the password through threat or coercion, anything found would become inadmissible as evidence in court. May take some appeals, but there's enough 4th Amendment precedent to uphold such a ruling. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2015-10-05 08:18 |