Kerr, How to Read a Legal Opinion

Example Federal Search Warrant application (skim, note requirements: sworn statement made by law enforcement officer before neutral judge or magistrate, establishing probable cause, location to be searched [attachment A], items to be seized [attachment b] and see how that maps onto searching a phone; particularity standard)
[the associated case itself is not important for our discussion of warrants, but if you are curious see: here]

The evolution of what requires a warrant (electronic evidence edition). Read one of the following opinions in full (court's opinion only) and the rest read the Wikipedia summaries:

• Kyllo v US(2001), (or Wikipedia summary)
  [warrant requirement for thermal imaging]
  
• Riley v California (2014), (or Wikipedia summary)
  [warrant requirement for cell phone search incident to arrest]
  
• US v Jones (2012), (or Wikipedia summary)
  [warrant requirement for placing GPS tracker]

Carpenter v United States(only responsible for court's opinion, not dissents -- but there is interesting stuff there!)

Kerr, Does Carpenter Revolutionize the Law of Subpoenas?

(Optional background on 3rd party doctrine)

• US v Miller
• Smith v Maryland

Skim:

18 USC 2701
18 USC 2703 (only read through (g), its not long, just painful)
18 USC 2705

Read summaries of:

• US v Warshak (2010)
• Microsoft v. United States (2016)

Optional: if you're curious, check out the 2701 section of the DoJ CCIPS Prosecuting Computer Crimes manual (i.e., directions for Federal prosecutors on how to charge computer crimes). Also again, if curious, check out instructions around 2703 in the DoJ CCIPS Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations manual. Note this is 2009 verison, pre-Warshak decision.

Read these three lawfare articles:

• The Microsoft Ireland Case: A Brief Summary
• Microsoft Challenged the Wrong Law. Now What? (Kerr's take on the case)
• Recap: Oral Arguments in Microsoft-Ireland

Optional: if you're curious, check out the full briefs and opinons. Microsoft documents the case up through presentation to the 2nd Circuit here, 2nd Circuit opinion here. Here are the brief's for the Supreme Court: US, Microsoft, all other court documents and Audio and Transcript of Oral arguments.

Text of CLOUD Act.

Skim 1-34 and 46-49 of Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping and the Summary of CALEA

Skim 574-589 of Government Hacking. Optional: read more (in particular 594-613)
Skim last Kelihos takedown warrant
Skim US v Michaud's order denying motion to supress and Ars Techinica story about what happened.

Skim: Wikipedia summary
Skim: Lawfare summary of predecessor EDNY case

Skim:

• Original DoJ AWA request
• Apple's motion to vacate

Skim:

• Government Reply
• Apple's reply
  

Optional: for those interested: the full gamut of documents is here. Also, the eventual Orenstein order in the EDNY case (note AWA analysis) and two short examinations of the Orenstein ruling here and here

Read: Chapter V of Carpe Data: A Guide for 9th Circuit Magistrate Judges when Reviewing Government Applications to Obtain Electronic Information

Read: The Fifth Amendment's Act of Production Doctrine: An Overlooked Shield Against Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum

Optional: Compelled Decryption and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination

Skim the 2020 CRS report summarizing the CFAA (in particular, 1-10 and 27-34)
Skim US v Nosal case summary on Wikiedia
Read 9th circuit en banc decision in Nosal I (exceeds authorized access)

Optional: DoJ's Legal Considerations when Gathering Online Cyber Threat Intelligence and Purchasing Data from Illicit Sources (basically, DOJ's directions for security researchers to not break the law with interacting with cyber criminals)

Optional: there is a fun Planet Money podcast on the Power Ventures story.

Read both summaries and skim the 9th circuit opinions:

• US v Cotterman, (HLR summary), 9th circuit opinion
  
• US v Cano, (HLR summary), 9th circuit opinion

• Mail and Wire Fraud: A Brief Overview of Federal Criminal Law (pages 1-8)
  
• Cybercrime: An Overview of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Statute and Related Federal Criminal Laws (pages 53-59)
  

• US v Onyesoh
• Zhukov ad fraud indictment (related press release explaining the case).
  
• Superceding indictment in Spyeye botnet case

Read at least through Section 4.3 of the Wikipedia summary on 230.

Read the summaries of three caseas below, and the decision in at least one:

Cubby v Compuserve (Wikipedia Summary)
Stratton Oakmont v Prodigy Services (Wikipedia Summary)
Hassell v Bird (be warned, super long) (Wikipedia Summary)

Read the Wikipedia summaries below(if you're curious, you can also read the key parts of the decisions):

• Universal City Studios v Reimerdes, (Wikipedia summary)
• US v ElcomSoft Wikipedia summary
  
• DVD Copy Control Assoc v Bunner, (Wikipedia summary)
  

• Your idea here
• Breaches -- civil liability
• Emerging evidence domains: geofence warrants, IoT/Alex, DNA, 3rd party location (compelled or purchased), cameras/ALPR, biometrics/face recognition