Tackling the Unique Digital Forensic Challenges for Law Enforcement in the Jurisdiction of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court

The creation of a restrictive digital evidence search protocol by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals - the most stringent in the United States - triggered intense legal debate and caused significant turmoil regarding digital forensics procedures and practices in law enforcement operations. Understanding the Court's legal reasoning and the U.S. Department of Justice's counter-arguments regarding this protocol is critical in appreciating how the tension between privacy concerns and the challenges to law enforcement stand at the center of this unique Information Age issue. By focusing on the Court's core assumption that the seizure and search of electronically stored information are inherently overly intrusive, digital forensics practitioners have a worthy target to focus their efforts in the advancement of digital forensics processes, procedures, techniques, and tool-sets. This paper provides an overview of various proposals, developments, and possible approaches to help address the privacy concerns central to the Court's decision, while potentially improving the overall effectiveness and efficiency of digital forensic operations in law enforcement.