This course is offered as an 4-hour course. Unlike most CalECPA classes, this class is not taught by an attorney – but rather an experienced investigator, from the perspective of law enforcement, for law enforcement. Originally developed for the POST Supervisor’s School, this course is applicable and relevant for all law enforcement investigators.

Students will learn about all the requirements outlined in Penal Code 1546.1 and 1546.2, including when warrants are required for digital evidence, how exigency plays a role, exceptions to the warrant requirements, and what is required of warrants targeting data from electronic devices or data from electronic service providers.

This course then covers the “notification” requirements outlined in Penal Code 1546.1, including contemporaneous notifications and delayed notifications. Discussions will be had on how to handle multiple notifications, court orders to extend these notifications, and best practices for how to appropriately complete and document the notifications.

Students will also discuss requirements about sealing evidence unrelated to the objective of the search warrants, and what to do when evidence is found beyond the warrant’s scope (IE: CSAM while searching a cell phone for evidence of drug sales, etc.). This discussion will include court orders and other legal remedies to navigate these complicated situations.

Finally, discussions will be had on the current landscape of preserving and maintaining digital evidence. This will include useful tools, software, hardware and resources available to law enforcement. This will also include discussions on technical limitations, and concerns for law enforcement such as different cellular device states (BFU vs. AFU) and how the new Android & iOS software may revert phones to BFU state if not forensically extracted promptly.