Dotcom searches illegal: Judge

The High Court has ruled the police raid on internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom’s Auckland mansion was illegal and the removal from New Zealand of cloned copies of hard drives seized was unlawful.
 
Justice Helen Winkelmann found the warrants used did not adequately describe the offences to which they were related.
 
"Indeed they fell well short of that. They were general warrants, and as such, are invalid.”
 
A spokesman for Dotcom’s attorneys said Dotcom and his co-defendants were pleased.
 
"They are very happy with Justice Winkelmann’s decision," wrote a representative for Simpson Grierson. "We are considering our clients’ remedies as a result of the decision that the search warrants were unlawful and that the FBI sending the clones to the USA was also unlawful."
 
Police said they were considering the judgement and are in discussions with Crown Law to determine what further action might be required.
 
They would not make any comment until that process was complete.
 
Justice Winkelmann’s judgement released a short time ago found the warrants were far too wide in terms of the scope of the search and the amount of items they gave police authority to seize.
 
"These categories of items were defined in such a way that they would inevitably capture within them both relevant and irrelevant material. The police acted on this authorisation. The warrants could not authorise seizure of irrelevant material, and are therefore invalid.”