Courtney v. the State
340 Ga. App. 496
| Ga. Ct. App. | 2017Background
- Detective monitoring online child-pornography activity observed increased traffic from a specific IP address and traced it to CenturyTel/CenturyLink (Century).
- The district attorney’s office issued an administrative subpoena under OCGA § 16-9-108(a) to Century seeking subscriber identifying information (including the physical address tied to the IP).
- After Century provided the address, police obtained a magistrate subpoena and searched the residence; evidence recovered led to Courtney’s arrest for sexual exploitation of children (OCGA § 16-12-100).
- Courtney moved to suppress the subscriber information obtained from Century, arguing OCGA § 16-9-109(b) requires a warrant or court order and thus the administrative subpoena was improper.
- The trial court denied suppression; Courtney obtained interlocutory appeal to challenge the denial.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Courtney has standing to challenge the search of Century for subscriber information | Courtney: § 16-9-109(b) creates a reasonable expectation of privacy in subscriber name/address, so he can challenge the disclosure | State: Subscriber info was voluntarily conveyed to a third party; Courtney lacks a reasonable privacy expectation and thus lacks standing | Court: No standing; information voluntarily conveyed to ISP is not protected by Fourth Amendment and § 16-9-109(b) governs third-party disclosure duties, not privacy rights of defendants |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Walker, 295 Ga. 888 (discussing standard of review on suppression rulings)
- Registe v. State, 292 Ga. 154 (same)
- Hampton v. State, 295 Ga. 665 (standing is a threshold burden for suppression)
- Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128 (defendant must show personal expectation of privacy to invoke Fourth Amendment)
- Ensley v. State, 330 Ga. App. 258 (no reasonable expectation of privacy in information voluntarily conveyed to a third party)
- Smith v. State, 284 Ga. 17 (privacy-expectation analysis)
- Hatcher v. State, 314 Ga. App. 836 (supporting precedent on third-party disclosure and lack of subscriber privacy)