Re: DH for email (re: email protection and privacy)

[Mike Godwin <mnemonic@eff.org>]

Phil Karn asks:
 
> >You're not required to go *beyond* what is specified in a subpoena.
> >But the subpoena's specifications can be pretty broad.
> 
> Are you talking civil, criminal, or both?

I assume you're asking about civil versus criminal contempt. My tentative
answer (I can't look this up because my reference books are still packed)
is both. Civil contempt, strictly speaking, is not a separate legal
action--a federal judge has broad authority to impose civil-contempt
sanctions on people who are noncompliant with subpoenas, who disrupt court
proceedings, and so on. Criminal contempt *is* a separate legal action,
and I think you can be prosecuted for intentional noncompliance with 
court orders, but I'd have to look up the criminal-contempt statute to 
be sure.


--Mike