The now infamous search warrant authorizing police to enter Jason Chen’s residence and seize contents related to the iPhone prototype has now been made public. The summary of the evidence on which the search warrant was based is below.
Interestingly, it looks like the identity of the finder (Brian Hogan) was obviously known to the police prior to the warrant. This fact was previously unclear as to when the police discovered that info.
It’s also apparent from the rest of the warrant that prosecutors are pursuing criminal charges under Section 496 of the Penal Code, which I previously mentioned was a strong possibility.
What’s got to be particularly troubling for Gizmodo is that the search warrant focuses on the stolen property angle of the case, rather than seeking the identity of Brian Hogan. That stands to hurt Giz and Chen’s journalist defense under both the California Shield laws and the federal Privacy Protection Act.
Another damning piece of evidence is the admission of Brian Lam in his email to Steve Jobs concerning Giz’s return of the iPhone. While I had seen portions of the followup email about the phone burning a hole in their pocket, I had not previously seen Brian’s initial response to Steve Jobs.
Ouch.
This email sure takes away what was left of any of the virtue that Gizmodo was hanging onto in this case.
Now that this search warrant has been revealed, the underlying facts are not quite as messy as everyone had previously assumed. A bit more of Giz’s virtue in this case is gone. And the police look to have a stronger case that I had presumed. While the situation with regard to journalist shield laws remains sticky, and there are certainly pressing evidentiary issues to litigate, in the mean time it would probably be a good idea to avoid buying an iPhone that you know doesn’t belong to the seller (or one that belongs to Steve Jobs).
If you’d like to read the full search warrant for yourself, you can find it here.
