While public attention focused on the federal and state elections, Michigan voters made an important decision—they adopted Proposal 20-2, which amended Michigan’s Constitution to extend its protection from unreasonable searches and seizures to electronic data and communications. With the proliferation of personal electronic devices and storage of business information on computers used at home in the past few decades, federal and state courts, including the Supreme Court, have grappled with how to apply Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures in a digital age. Although Proposal 20-2 might not change investigative practice, it clarifies that electronic data and communications are subject to the same protection against unreasonable search and seizure as other “traditional” information, such as paper records.
Continue Reading Michigan Voters Add Constitutional Protections for Electronic Data and Communications