Case 2:16-mj-01061-TJR Document 13 Filed 02/03/17 Page 13 of 29
addition, the court determined that the term of art "warrant" as used in the SCA was intended to
protect privacy rights in a territorial way. Id. at 212. 8
Having determined under the first step of the Morrison analysis that the relevant
statutory provisions of the SCA do not contemplate extraterritorial application, the court
proceeded to the second step. That is, the court identified the statute's focus and assessed
whether the execution of the warrant would constitute an unlawful extraterritorial application of
the SCA. Id. at 220-21. In so doing, the court examined the plain meaning of the SCA' s warrant
provisions, the focus of the substantive provisions of the Act, the focus of sections 2701 and
2702 of the Act on the protection of stored electronic data, the adoption by the SCA of the
procedures set forth in Fed. R. Crim. P. 41 which reflects the historical understanding of a
warrant as an instrument protective of a citizen's privacy, and the legislative history of the
statute. See id. at 217-20. Ultimately, the Second Circuit found that the SCA focuses on user
privacy and determined that enforcing the warrant by directing Microsoft to seize the contents of
its customer's communications stored in Ireland would be an unlawful extraterritorial application
of the SCA. Id. at 220-21.
F.
Morrison Step Two Analysis
In a recent decision, the Supreme Court further elaborated on the proper analysis
at step two of the Morrison inquiry. In RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Cmty., 136 S. Ct. 2090
The court rejected the district court's interpretation of the word "warrant" as used
in 18 U.S.C. § 2703(a) as one being akin to a hybrid between a warrant and a subpoena.
Microsoft, 829 F.3d at 213-14. Instead, the Second Circuit held that the term warrant was a term
of art, tied to the restrictions of Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(b)(5) which limits search warrants to a
United States territory, possession or commonwealth. The court noted that the SCA itself
distinguishes between subpoenas and warrants and the Act does not use the word "hybrid" to
describe a warrant. See id. at 214-16.
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