Ensley v. the State
330 Ga. App. 258
| Ga. Ct. App. | 2014Background
- Ensley was convicted of multiple counts of sexual exploitation of children based on child pornography found on his home computers.
- Ensley moved to suppress information about his name and address obtained from Comcast linking his IP address to him.
- A Cherokee County detective obtained a search warrant directed to Comcast for subscriber information tied to an IP address.
- Comcast provided the subscriber information after the warrant and the detective obtained a search warrant to search Ensley’s residence.
- The defense argued the magistrate lacked jurisdiction to issue the warrant for Comcast’s New Jersey records and that Ensley had standing to challenge the intrusion.
- The trial court denied suppression; the court of appeals affirmed, holding Ensley lacked standing to challenge the Comcast data.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Ensley has standing to challenge Comcast data | Ensley asserts privacy interest in his own subscriber info | State contends Ensley has no reasonable expectation of privacy in information voluntarily conveyed to the provider | Ensley lacks standing; no reasonable expectation of privacy in subscriber info |
Key Cases Cited
- Smith v. State, 284 Ga. 17 (Ga. 2008) (no reasonable expectation of privacy in information voluntarily conveyed)
- Hatcher v. State, 314 Ga. App. 836 (Ga. App. 2012) (resident has no expectation of privacy in subscriber info for which not the subscriber)
- United States v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435 (U.S. 1976) (no automatic expectation of privacy for information voluntarily conveyed to third parties)
- Kesler v. State, 249 Ga. 462 (Ga. 1982) (privacy expectations in CIA context of third-party information)
- Culpepper v. State, 156 Ga. App. 331 (Ga. App. 1980) (voluntary disclosure to ISP forecloses privacy expectation)
- Guest v. Leis, 255 F.3d 325 (6th Cir. 2001) (privacy expectations in information supplied to ISPs)