2010) is a criminal case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit holding that government agents violated the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights by compelling his Internet service provider (ISP) to turn over his emails without first obtaining a search warrant based on probable cause.

However, constitutional violation notwithstanding, the evidence obtained with these emails was admissible at trial because the government agents relied in good faith on the Stored Communications Act (SCA).

Over the phone, Berkeley's sales force followed a script approved by Warshak designed to try to slip pertinent information past the customer.

The district court filed a preliminary injunction which was affirmed by the Sixth Circuit, finding that Warshak had a privacy interest in the content of his emails.

Shortly thereafter, a jury found that certain assets were sufficiently related to the crimes such that Warshak was ordered to forfeit illegally obtained gains.

Warshak received a prison term of 25 years, ordered to pay a fine of $93,000 and to forfeit the sums of $459,540,000 and $44,876,781.68 which represented the proceeds of the crimes.

[1] The court held that government agents infringed upon Warshak's Fourth Amendment rights when they compelled his ISP to produce the content of his emails without first obtaining a warrant based on probable cause.

As the government agents operated in good faith on provisions of the Stored Communications Act, the exclusionary rule was not applicable and reversal of Warshak's convictions was not warranted.

Under the SCA, agents of the government can request access to emails using an administrative subpoena or by obtaining a court order, depending on certain statutory classifications.

The court reasoned that: "[g]iven the often sensitive and sometimes damning substance of his emails, we think it highly unlikely that Warshak expected them to be made public, for people seldom unfurl their dirty laundry in plain view.

The court stated that the question is of grave importance because email communication has assumed a prominent role in today's society.

"[1] The threat of possible access by an ISP to the content of a subscriber's email does not defeat this reasonable expectation of privacy, the court continued.

Where Miller involved simple business records, the emails at issue here are personal and confidential and concern a wide variety of topics.

[1][17] The court concluded that a subscriber enjoys a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of emails sent or received through, or stored with, a commercial ISP.

[1] The Sixth Circuit held that the government violated Steven Warshak's Fourth Amendment rights when it compelled his ISP to turn over the contents of his email without a warrant based on probable cause.

As a result, the Sixth Circuit:[1] The concurring opinion addressed the use of the SCA by the government to request that Warshak's ISP retain emails it would have otherwise deleted.

The Email Privacy Act, a bill introduced in the United States Congress, would codify the holding in Warshak, applying its rule nationwide.