God, I know I'm gonna regret this in the morning and I SO wish I were talking about a huge hangover, but nope, not me, I'm about to ... what's the phrase eat my own foot? bite myself in the a**? AH HA .... RANT! Sooooo, I am a hard core Constitutionalist (with a heart), I have no political home, a poor, wayfaring stranger in a dark land divided ... and freedom of speech (oh for shock) is near and dear to my heart (whoda known) hardcore to the right, swimming in the Atlantic right wing Christian republican BUT (y'all see that comin'?) BUT if the FBI paid the Geek Squad to inform on child pornographers .... sorry .... we don't have the Constitutional right to break the law and the law is, kiddie porn just ain't right. Right? Our children, the generation we are entrusting the future of the human race to, are off limits. Right?
I agree, kids are off limits ... but here is the rub ... and here is where EVERYBODY is going to hate me and shout my battle cry RANT .... if the FBI is paying for information a) are the employees fishing on devices looking for shit to sell? and b) doesn't this, by extension for evidence purposes, make Geek Squad agents of the FBI - aren't they acting on behalf of the FBI to circumvent compliance with the 4th Amendment requirements regarding probable cause and unreasonable search?
Not knowing all the facts, just taking this situation as reported on both left and right news, I'd be willing to bet the case at bar, Rettenmaier, will be tossed but worse, it's going to throw open the door to reopen cases over the past decade involving searches and seizures based on information found on electronic devices
Because of the FBI's serious lapse in judgment are we now going to see known offenders go free? Would a little bit more surveillance and good old fashioned leg-work have spared the taxpayers the millions this is going to cost in legal and court fees? Do our children mean so little to them that they are willing to risk cutting corners and bypassing the Constitution to achieve their goals?
This isn't a matter of stumbling upon child porn or electronic contraband or information about some ongoing crime ... this was buried information that required special software to access in a place on the drive where Geek Squad would have had no reason to be dicking around. Taken as reported, in my opinion: "the glove don't fit, I'd have to acquit".
In a civil suit, I'd have to see a WHOLE LOTTA evidence before I'd blame Geek Squad for employees selling information to those sneaky SOBs at the FBI ... policy manuals, notes and videos of training sessions, YEARS of employee reprimands and discharges for similar instances, something showing those specific employees had signed that they understood the policies, procedures used by employees, oversight by managers ... if Geek Squad had good labor and employment counsel on staff or on retainer they should have this one. If not and somebody decides to sue them and they don't have a shit ton of paperwork to cover their behinds ... y'all can get rid of your Geek Squad stock now.
My reason for siding with the perv is pretty simple ... what is to keep them from digging into devices for hate speech, private expressions -- there are still some pretty archaic laws on the books in most states (regarding premarital sex, "deviant" sexual behavior and I'd imagine other stuff) what will keep the thought police from taking another inch? or going an inch too far ... or some backwater berg from using a precedent like this to enforce some of those ridiculous "private matter" laws? These are dangerous precedents to set.
Our forefathers put a LOT of thought into an enduring document. I'm not saying it should never change. It's a living, breathing, growing, changing, fluid concept. Our Constitution is brilliant and we should NEVER tamper with it lightly...and we must NEVER pick and choose to whom or in what situations it should apply.
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