Subpoena Question- HELP!

[Princess]

Not sure where I should put this so I stuck it here...

I have a few friends being sued in a civil case. They are accused of some sort of conspiracy against another person. I can't give too many details as it is a pretty well publicized case.

Bottom line is that I was told today that a Subpoena has been issued for MY emails. To my understanding, they are looking for emails between myself and these three other individuals. I am NOT even listed in the suit!

My concern is obvious. What happens if they find other *interesting* things in my emails?? Can they even read emails that don't involve the people listed in this suit?

Anyone know anything about this kind of thing??

[jonny-5]

this is an interesting question. i think my pops would know, ill ask him tomorrow. i hope i can tell you something good.

[smojo]

With a subpeona

YES

They can and will read them

Even if you erase them

Unfortunate but true

Ask Chopstix

He may know more ???

Then again maybe not

good luck

[Princess]

I hope you can too!

this is an interesting question. i think my pops would know, ill ask him tomorrow. i hope i can tell you something good.

[Princess]

What they are looking for is NOT drug related at all. BUT I *might* have other emails that did have drug chat, etc in them. I'm just wondering if they can read ALL my emails or just the ones to/from the people involved in the case.

The stuff they are looking for, will not be found, it doesn't exist. I'm not worried about emails pertaining to the case. I'm worried about MY personal emails between me and other friends....


With a subpeona

YES

They can and will read them

Even if you erase them

Unfortunate but true

Ask Chopstix

He may know more ???

Then again maybe not

good luck

[pharmboy]

I know I'm a pesimistic shit but cant THEY do pretty much whatever

the hell they want ?

[NV12]

What they are looking for is NOT drug related at all. BUT I *might* have other emails that did have drug chat, etc in them. I'm just wondering if they can read ALL my emails or just the ones to/from the people involved in the case.

The stuff they are looking for, will not be found, it doesn't exist. I'm not worried about emails pertaining to the case. I'm worried about MY personal emails between me and other friends....

No doubt they would see the e-mails, but they don't have a subpoena for anything drug related. Could they prosecute you based on evidence found during something unrelated? As in some type of illegal search or recovery???

Ah, but I'm not in hot pursuit of a law degree anytime soon... God knows I'm the last person that should hand out legal advice :) Just my thoughts...

I can't sleep, ugh.

[Princess]

That's kind of how I'm thinking. These emails in question (that don't even fucking exist) would have been over a year ago, so there wouldn't be too much *evidence* to be found. During that time period I was pretty involved with the ex-boyfriend who was taking care of my supply. He and I didn't use email. At all.

I just don't remember what all might be there to be found...

No doubt they would see the e-mails, but they don't have a subpoena for anything drug related. Could they prosecute you based on evidence found during something unrelated? As in some type of illegal search or recovery???

Ah, but I'm not in hot pursuit of a law degree anytime soon... God knows I'm the last person that should hand out legal advice :) Just my thoughts...

I can't sleep, ugh.

GET SOME SLEEP, GIRL!

[smojo]

What they are looking for is NOT drug related at all. BUT I *might* have other emails that did have drug chat, etc in them. I'm just wondering if they can read ALL my emails or just the ones to/from the people involved in the case.

The stuff they are looking for, will not be found, it doesn't exist. I'm not worried about emails pertaining to the case. I'm worried about MY personal emails between me and other friends....

I think what they do find has to pertain to the case at hand
So worry not .......Hope you do feel better

Somanax/Smojo/U100

All say sleep on it :rolleyes:

[Princess]

THANK YOU GUYS!

I think what they do find has to pertain to the case at hand
So worry not .......Hope you do feel better

Somanax/Smojo/U100

All say sleep on it :rolleyes:

[Raz]

Hopefully it will state on the subpoena what specific e mails,ie, between "joe and john", but once you have someone fuckin around with your data base etc, they can/will read what they what they want....

I would look into makin some kinda Affidavit stating that no e mails exist of said nature....Obviously you would need some IT attorney to make the Affidavit,once he has looked at your e mails.....This may be an option to keep your e mails out of the courts hands???

But obviously i know fuck all about the US shitstyem....But hope you keep your business outta there hands....

[Indy]

the detectives or whatever WILL read your personal emails, shopping list, diary, etc. but they can't charge you with anything that isn't related to the subpoena. i'm PRETTY SURE BUT NOT 100% ON THIS, i'm pretty savvy about law related to e-evidence.

also, an email isn't enough evidence to bring a case against you. just like how you can't be convicted just for SAYING "i do heroin", there has to be some other kind of evidence. i'm sure they could bring up some bullshit conspiracy charge, but i don't think the cop reading your diary is going to WANT to bring a case against you, more paperwork for something that he most likely won't get a pat on the back for.

oh, and i DON'T GUARANTEE THIS ALL TO BE FACT. if i'm wrong on something, correct me, plus it probably varies state to state.

[paroxetina]

As others have said, I think you should be okay, especially since you only "might" have drug-related stuff. I think if you had a lot, you'd know :) It isn't as if you're setting things up with your dealer online, clearly!

Good luck though. It is very scary, which I can only imagine. Take care.

[Chicago]

YUP, U FUCKED!!!




With a subpeona

YES

They can and will read them

Even if you erase them

Unfortunate but true

Ask Chopstix

He may know more ???

Then again maybe not

good luck

[OxyQueen]

Much luck to ya MOM...i dont have any knowledge about shit like this. I WOULD imagine they would look thru all the emails tho. Hopefully they have better things to spend their time on. Just wanted to wish you luck. When is this all going to happen, and i would seek the advice of an attorney.

[irish]

Get a lawyer, now. This way you will know for sure, and your rights won't get trampled.

[Somanax]

What Irish said :rolleyes:

Then you know

and they can serve

the lawyer not you

no difference there

but you don't have to shoo them offa yer lawn :mad:

[nick]

Of course they'll read ALL your e mail......what do you expect?

But,they can only use what's pertinent to the suit.


Unless "they" really want you or your shifting serious weight,you'll be fine.


Worst case scenario is a phone call to narcotics and they'll start a file.......if you don't have your own file already.

[SeVeN]

Of course they'll read ALL your e mail......what do you expect?

But,they can only use what's pertinent to the suit.


Unless "they" really want you or your shifting serious weight,you'll be fine.


Worst case scenario is a phone call to narcotics and they'll start a file.......if you don't have your own file already.


Like Nick said. The only e-mails that should be talked about in the trial are the ones that might be involved about this "conspiracy" or whatever. The other ones should be objected out if brought up in court on the basis of relevance.

A savy Prosecuter might say that they should be heard to show your character. But my guesse is that wouldnt make it through or won't happen. It depends how much your going to testify, if at all. Good luck!!

[youwonhundred]

Don't y'all know we don't have any fucking rights any more? Like someone else said, T, get a lawyer, and quick. The few rights we do have left need all the protectin' they can get before the whole shithouse falls in.

PS, if you still need to get that Airport thingy fixed up, I know I've been outta touch for a while, but you can always just call me. :p

[Dune]

I agree with everyone else. They probably will see all of them, but they shouldn't be concerned about unrelated e-mails. A lawyer still would be a good idea. Better safe than sorry. Good luck, and keep us posted. PTO, when is thiss supposed to go down?

[jonny-5]

my pops said that they can only use whats pertinent to this case.

plus other stuff in your emails wont bug em. they wouldnt waste the money unless you were consistently dealing huge amounts of drugs through email. it wouldnt be worth it to em.

youre cool.

[OxyContinuously]

yup PTO

a "foaf" of mine had some shit like this happen to them

what ended up happening is the subpoena was specific for a timeframe, say all email from Jan '07 till November '07

they get all correspondence from ur email addy/IP/etc from those timeframes and only use what's pertinent to their specific case at hand...

the subpoena will prob. say between what times they need, and also what sort of info they need relevant to the legal matter at hand---anything else is just noise to them...

like others have said,, they dont really give a hoot about anything except what they are looking for

kinda like a search warrant issued for your kitchen...they found nothing in the kitchen, so they decide to 'look' in the dining room and BAM! they find a pound of methamphetamine..

they have to let the meth go; the legal terminology is called "fruit of the poisoned tree" you can't be incriminated for stuff that the subpoena/warrant doesn't name specifically..

i wouldn't worry about it ;-p

later

[chopstix]

^^^ truth, the subpoena is *supposed* to be used only for specifics, BUT, don't ever assume that you're completely safe - this is exactly why everyone on the planet should be using fucking PGP/GPG for email, but I'm not gonna go there...

Like U100 said - we don't have the same rights we used to, and this "power" *IS* being abused. I would absolutely recommend that you consult with an attorney ASAP and be %100 honest about the situation - to my knowledge, there aren't any law degrees in this forum..

Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you..

[Dune]

Chopstix, I'd like to know more about PGP/GPG for email. Can you tell me what it is?

[chopstix]

No time right now - sorry, google it, all information is on the web and there are a ton of front-ends and email client plug-ins..

edit: here's a link, not trying to be a dick, it's just complex and I'm short on time..

http://www.gnupg.org/

[Dune]

You're not being a dick, thanks for the link.

[Princess]

Thanks Jonny. That's pretty much what my attorney said.

my pops said that they can only use whats pertinent to this case.

plus other stuff in your emails wont bug em. they wouldnt waste the money unless you were consistently dealing huge amounts of drugs through email. it wouldnt be worth it to em.

youre cool.



The attorney said that they have to issue the subpoena to the ISP- WITH THE SPECIFICS. The ISP isn't gonna say "here's all her emails from the day the account was opened until now". I guess they have to say exactly what they want; the to and from, time frame, etc.

So, I'm cool. I'm not worried. I'm not even scheduled to testify and I'm not named in the case. They are just trying to prove that my "friends" conspired against someone else. They won't find anything more than the 'ole "Can you believe that bitch?" kind of emails... none involving a conspiracy to defame anyone.


yup PTO

a "foaf" of mine had some shit like this happen to them

what ended up happening is the subpoena was specific for a timeframe, say all email from Jan '07 till November '07

they get all correspondence from ur email addy/IP/etc from those timeframes and only use what's pertinent to their specific case at hand...

the subpoena will prob. say between what times they need, and also what sort of info they need relevant to the legal matter at hand---anything else is just noise to them...

like others have said,, they dont really give a hoot about anything except what they are looking for

kinda like a search warrant issued for your kitchen...they found nothing in the kitchen, so they decide to 'look' in the dining room and BAM! they find a pound of methamphetamine..

they have to let the meth go; the legal terminology is called "fruit of the poisoned tree" you can't be incriminated for stuff that the subpoena/warrant doesn't name specifically..

i wouldn't worry about it ;-p

later


THANKS GUYS!!!