Sorry John... That'll be a hard No...

[Ohio Joe]

The Justice Department on Monday rejected conservative attorney John Eastman’s request that the DOJ return his phone, which FBI agents seized in June.

Eastman asked a federal judge in a filing in June to order the DOJ to return his phone, eliminate records it obtained and to block investigators’ access to it after the FBI seized it. Late last month, federal prosecutors responded to Eastman’s filing, saying that they obtained a second warrant on July 12 to search the contents of his phone, which is in the hands of federal agents with the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General. Prosecutors said the second warrant included a so-called “filter protocol” to prevent investigators from obtaining potentially privileged information from Eastman’s phone, and that Eastman’s counsel was aware of the protocol.

In a filing on Monday, the DOJ dismissed Eastman’s challenge of the seizure of his phone — which includes Eastman’s claim that FBI agents didn’t show him the search warrant until his phone was seized. The DOJ said that Eastman’s claim lacked legal merit.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/doj-rejects-eastman-s-request-to-return-his-seized-phone/ar-AA10s30W?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1ea6fd063dc04a79a57d8e414f66a8ed

'Please may I have my incriminating evidence back'

Pffffffttttttt... Too funny

[PatSeg]

1. "May I have my incriminating evidence back?"

[The Jungle 1]

2. Invention

A phone that remotely burns up. Like Mission Impossible. Seems easy to me, Short out the battery and the phone burns up.

[Harker]

3. I'd hate for it to self destruct in my pocket.

Or on my dresser.

[Evolve Dammit]

4. hate it when that happens!

[Harker]

5. I still have painful memories involving a cheap lighter.

ETA: and carrying around a 9v battery in the same pocket with some loose change.

Ow.

[Evolve Dammit]

7. My old Zippo used to leak fluid and that was painful!

[Harker]

8. Exactly what got me with a Zippo...

And I was in a store when the terminals of the battery made contact with a coin or coins.

I recall shouting a couple of poorly chosen words and making some pretty odd dance moves. Very hot.

[Evolve Dammit]

9. I'm laughing. Sorry, but I can totally relate. Dammit!

[Harker]

11. I'm lucky these were separate events.

I might've made the local paper if I'd spontaneously combusted.

And that's completely disregarding the time a cigarillo fell between my legs while I was driving. Up to that point I'd never tried driving while standing.

[Evolve Dammit]

12. You're killin' me!

[LuckyCharms]

13. Holy shit...

Your story reminded me of something.

Driving an early 80's Corolla. Dropped a lit cig in between the seats and I could see it, but couldn't reach it. I was stopped at a light in front of this hole in the wall bar.

Put the car in park, ran into the bar, grabbed a guy's beer right off the bar, ran back out to the car, and doused the cig with the beer. Went back in and bought the guy two beers.

[Harker]

14. Classic stuff!

My first night working at a news & smoke shop in 1976, I started a fire in the trash can behind the counter by prematurely emptying an ashtray.

Roy, the long-haired, wire rimmed Vietnam vet who was training me said, "don't move - I'll be right back!", and ran to the bathroom.

He was back in no time with a huge cup of water, which he threw in my face.

I loved that place.

[cannabis_flower]

6. Couldn't they give him the phone back....

After they’re get all the incriminating evidence off of it? Maybe not. And I guess that wouldn’t make him happy anyway!

[Silent3]

10. Eastman, who I don't give a fuck about aside, it does bug me that...

...police can seize all sorts of computer assets as evidence, which might be very expensive and possibly important to someone's livelihood, and hold onto into for outrageously long periods of time before returning it.

I remember someone I knew reporting a tablet stolen. Remarkably the tablet was found fairly quickly, but the woman who was the victim of the theft couldn't get her own property back from the police for over a year because it was being "held as evidence". The police finished what the thief started by depriving the woman of most of the value of the device, forcing her to buy a replacement even though she was hardly made of money.

Whenever at all possible, it seems to me, data should be copied quickly and property returned promptly, otherwise the confiscation simply becomes extra-judicial punishment without a trial.

[Ohio Joe]

15. It's really two separate things...

I agree, someone who had their property stolen should have a way to get it back without waiting for the trial. A defendant's seized items though... No, that should remain in custody for trial, no way should they get it back.

[Silent3]

16. A defendant shouldn't be treated as if they are already guilty, however

Seizures can be essentially a form of extra-judicial punishment. If all that's needed is a copy of data, what purpose does it serve except a punitive purpose to hold onto a person's possessions any longer than absolutely necessary?

[Ohio Joe]

17. I somewhat disagree... I'll explain...

"Seizures can be essentially a form of extra-judicial punishment."

OK... Yes... Things like asset forfeiture absolutely can be extrajudicial punishment. Or say... Someone gets pulled over and they find something in the car, once the illegal item is in hand, the car does not really need to be kept.

Computer devices used in a crime are different in my mind...

"If all that's needed is a copy of data, what purpose does it serve except a punitive purpose to hold onto a person's possessions any longer than absolutely necessary?"

There is the rub... It is not just a copy of data, especially in this case. Things may have (probably) been deleted and need to be recovered. If the device is given back, it can be altered and far too few people understand how devices work to where it could then be held up in court to say 'Hey, here is the actual device and what the prosecution says is not true'... It would cause reasonable doubt where none should exist far too often.

It is something that was actually used in the crime, it should be held... No question in my mind.