United States v. Khanani

Defendants challenged the district court’s denial of their motion to suppress evidence found from computer searches, alleging the search went beyond the scope of the warrants and that the lack of a search protocol made the warrants deficient.

The Court affirmed the district court’s denial of Defendants’ motion to suppress. There was no evidence that agents disregarded the terms of the search warrants, and probable cause existed based on a task force coordinator’s observation of computers in Defendant Portlock’s office. Moreover, the lack of a written search protocol did not infringe on Defendants’ Fourth Amendment rights, as the computer examiner searched Defendants’ hard drives using keyword searches and did not examine non-responsive files.

Initial Brief for Appellant

Brief of the United States (Criminal Case)

Reply and Cross Appeal Brief For Appellant 

Reply Brief of the United States