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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PUBLISHES GUIDE TO LAWS OF SEARCHING

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In an effort to assist law enforcement agencies across the country in obtaining electronic evidence in criminal investigations, the Department of Justice this week released a manual devoted exclusively to the laws of searching and seizing computers and electronic surveillance on the Internet.

The resource, entitled, "Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations," was created by the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). The manual outlines how electronic surveillance laws apply to the Internet, as well as how the courts have applied the Fourth Amendment to computers.

"The guidebook is important not only for law enforcement agents and prosecutors, but also for any American who uses a computer,"said James K. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division. "Electronic privacy is important to us all, and the Department wants everyone to know what their rights are."