Vermont Supreme Court Says Judge OK to Limit Search

The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that a judge can impose restrictions on a search warrant in an electronic privacy case.

The state had complained that a lower court judge had placed too many restrictions on a search warrant that Burlington police had obtained for a man's computer and other electronic devices in an identity theft investigation.

Police believed a Burlington man had used a computer to apply for credit cards in the name of an elderly New York state man.

The police sought a search warrant for "all computers or electronic media" in the house where the alleged perpetrator lived, even though others lived there.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the judge could limit the search but had no authority to preclude police's seizure of items in plain view.

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