Programmer, US settle over laptop seizure

[struggle4progress]

By Maria Cramer
Globe Staff
May 30, 2013

... David House .. accused the Department of Homeland Security of violating his civil rights when he passed through a Chicago airport in November 2010.

Homeland Security agents did not have a warrant when they seized House’s ­laptop, camera, and a flash drive, then asked him questions about his ­relationship with Manning, according to House’s lawsuit. Manning is accused of leaking classified information about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that was posted on WikiLeaks and published by The New York Times and other news organizations.

More than two years after the encounter, the government has agreed to destroy any data it retrieved from the laptop and the other devices. The government also agreed to hand over copies of reports of the investigation into House. In return, House agreed to drop his lawsuit ...

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/05/30/supporter-leak-suspect-bradley-manning-settles-with-over-laptop-seizure/EOG2iCb3aSbwBQeEHq7tiO/story.html

[PDJane]

1. Government overreach, yeah?

[struggle4progress]

2. Could be. Unfortunately, it's an old and somewhat established theory in US law that

full constitutional protections don't apply on border entry

I suppose that makes some sense with regard to anti-smuggling operations

But it's not at all clear to me how one ought to approach (say) national security or espionage issues. Since, for example, one of Assange's old close buddies was at one point offering to sell some of the US embassy cables, I'm sure a bunch of folk have scratched their heads and looked hard at the possibility that there might be some organized espionage associated with Wikileaks and/or Manning. So it's not immediately obvious to me that House fell under suspicion simply for his beliefs or for exercising his rights of free association

Still, I'm not a big fan of the "you have no rights at the border" theory, so I'm happy to see House and the ACLU smack the theory down a peg