[Lurking Libertarian]

I thought that a search warrant had to be for specific cause. Confiscating a suspect's computers under a tax evasion search warrant and then charging him with a non-tax evasion crime sounds like a fishing expedition to me. Unless the rule of law does not apply to certain types of criminal allegations.

Hence the claim by the Government that pictures were "inadvertently discovered." If the cops get a search warrant based on probable cause to suspect one crime, and they inadvertently find evidence of another crime, the Supreme Court has held the evidence admissible. A common situation is cops entering an apartment with a warrant to search for stolen goods and finding drugs.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

In other words, if the Feds want to get something on you all they have to do is get a search warrant for anything, and evidence of any other crimes they stumble across is admissable.

Why even bother with pretending the fourth amendment exists?

[NJ_gent]

Probable cause searches require a reasonable suspicion that evidence of a crime will be found. Evidence of tax evasion would be likely found inside a .zip, .xls, .doc, etc. It's extremely unlikely that there would be evidence of his tax evasion in picture files. Unless, of course, he took pictures of himself evading taxes. If he's got any kind of lawyer worth a damn, there's no way these charges stick.

Personally, I smell setup; but I don't know the guy, nor do I know enough about the situation to form a strong opinion. Either way, the jpeg search was BS.