03/02/2020 In re 381 Search Warrants Directed to Facebook, Inc. :: 2017 :: New York Court of Appeals Decisions :: New York Case Law :: New York Law :: US … 920). Footnote 15: Even apart from the statutory grant of standing, a simple way to understand why Facebook has standing is to remember that the government cannot search or seize Facebook's business records or property without a warrant. Facebook has business interests that may be unduly burdened by compliance with the warrants. Because the injury to those business interests may turn in part on whether the bulk warrants are constitutional, there may be some overlap between arguments that Facebook could make and arguments its users could make. That overlap, however, does not negate Facebook's own stake in the matter. Footnote 16: The majority does suggest that Facebook could attempt to compel disclosure of the affidavit, pointing to Matter of Newsday (3 NY3d 651 [2004]), a short memorandum in which we suggested an appellant denied the opportunity to appeal an interlocutory order in a criminal proceeding could either bring a Freedom of Information Law request or a civil proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78. The majority does not contend an article 78 suit would also have presented Facebook with a viable mechanism for challenging the voluminousness or burden imposed by the warrants. In fact, Newsday tried to do exactly that —- and, ironically, the Appellate Division converted its article 78 suit into an appeal (id. at 652). Footnote 17: Had Supreme Court found against the District Attorney, his office would have been entitled to benefit from a symmetrical appeal (see e.g., People v Still, 48 AD2d 366 [1975]). The appellate courts are open equally to the government and the service provider, and there is no reason to think that acknowledging motions to quash SCA warrants are appealable may not benefit the District Attorney in the next case. Footnote 18: Abrams does not require a proceeding to be closely analogous to a motion to quash a subpoena to inaugurate a special civil proceeding incident to, but separate from, a criminal one. In fact, Abrams itself extended not only to a motion to quash a subpoena, but also to a motion to disqualify an attorney. The proper analysis, then, should focus on the true nature of the proceedings (here, essentially, a disclosure request served on an innocent third party), and not on whether the SCA bulk warrants operate more like traditional search warrants or subpoenas. Nevertheless, because the bulk warrants do operate more like subpoenas, I leave that issue for another day. Footnote 19: The delegates to the 1938 Constitutional Convention themselves thought the https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/court-of-appeals/2017/16.html 41/44