privacy U.S. v. Hamilton workplace privacy
Appeals Court Hears Arguments in E-mail Privacy Case
The Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments this week in United States v. Hamilton, a criminal case involving personal e-mails to a spouse sent from a workplace computer. The court focused on the scope of the marital privilege, the privacy of workplace e-mail, and whether failing to delete e-mail after a change in an email "use policy" can constitute a waiver of privilege. EPIC argued in an amicus brief that the retroactive application of a use policy as well as "a duty to delete" would be unfair to users. For more information, see EPIC: United States v. Hamilton and EPIC: Workplace Privacy.