The Fourth Amendment Implications Of Sharing Server Space

The prosecution of Martin Shkreli, whom the BBC has called "the most hated man in America," reveals some important lessons about the Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure in the digital corporate context: physical access to documents on a server may trump actual ownership of records.

In December 2015, former head of the pharmaceutical company Retrophin, Martin Shkreli, was indicted for conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have alleged that Shkreli raided Retrophin to pay investors in two hedge funds he managed, MSMB Capital Management LP and MSMB Healthcare Management LP. In response to a government subpoena following Shkreli's indictment, the publicly-traded Retrophin produced troves of MSMB Capital and MSBM Healthcare-related documents. Shkreli subsequently moved to suppress those documents, arguing their use violated his Fourth Amendment protection against searches and seizures.