U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola denied the request for a search warrant that would allow authorities to explore the contents of Daniel Milzman's Apple iPhone, saying the application would need to be refined in order to ensure Milzman would not be subject to unlawful search and seizure in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.
“Specifically, the government fails to articulate how it will limit the possibility that data outside the scope of the warrant will be searched,” the ruling said.
Filed on Monday, the application for the warrant sought permission to obtain information about Internet activity on the phone, call records, contact lists, digital images, GPS records, evidence as to who owned or used the phone over a given time period, and any records indicating the purchase or storage of the ricin or other biological agents.
It also sought to conduct a forensic analysis on the phone, which would allow authorities to recover data that may have been deleted or edited, and provide further evidence as to who used the phone and when.
Judge Facciola chastised the government in his opinion, saying the D.C. district court had rejected two similar applications over the past two weeks because of incomplete technical descriptions of how it intends to search for specific items detailed in the warrants without violating their scope.
“The government has made some improvements in its current application, yet it still fails to satisfy the particularity requirement of what will be searched and fails to fully explain to the court how much data for which it does not have probable cause will likely be seized,” he said in his order.
Milzman, of Bethesda, Md., was arrested and charged with possession of more than 120 milligrams of ricin, described as a potentially lethal amount.
According to court documents, a fellow resident at Georgetown's McCarthy Hall allegedly notified a residential adviser that Milzman was storing ricin in his room. When confronted, he allegedly showed his supply of the biological toxin to the adviser, who notified police.
Ricin, which is produced from castor beans, can cause organ dysfunction and respiratory failure if ingested.
An attorney for the government could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
In the search warrant case, the government is represented by David Joseph Mudd of the U.S. Attorney's Office for Washington, D.C., National Security Section.
Milzman is represented by Danny C. Onorato and Stuart A. Sears of Schertler & Oronato LLP.
The case is U.S. v. Apple IPhone, IMEI 013888003783427, case number 1:14-mj-00278, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The criminal case is U.S. v. Milzman, case number 1:14-mj-00275, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
--Editing by Jeremy Barker.
