Supreme Court Drops Case Pitting DOJ Against Microsoft
April 17 2018 - 11:18AM
Dow Jones News
By Brent Kendall
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday dropped from its
docket a case that examined whether emails and other data stored
overseas are subject to U.S. search warrants, following new
legislation from Congress saying they are.
The case had pitted federal and state authorities against an
array of leading tech companies. It centered on a dispute between
the Justice Department and Microsoft Corp., which resisted
complying with a warrant that sought emails from an account
allegedly tied to illegal drug activity.
Microsoft had stored the emails in Ireland and said U.S.
warrants didn't reach beyond domestic borders. The Justice
Department said the warrant was enforceable because the government
sought disclosure in the U.S., where Microsoft is based.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in February, and several
justices expressed frustration at having to decide the case based
under a 1986 federal law on electronic records that Congress
adopted before email and cloud-computing were everyday tools.
Now, they don't have to. Weeks after the argument, Congress
passed legislation to modernize the law and give law enforcement
access to data even if it is stored overseas.
"This case, therefore, has become moot," the court wrote in a
three-page opinion.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 17, 2018 11:03 ET (15:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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