Kansas University v. Lawrence Journal-World [1]

On December 10, 2007, an investigator with the Kansas University Office of Public Safety delivered a search warrant [2] to the Lawrence Journal-World, a highly regarded newspaper in Lawrence, Kansas, demanding access to the newspaper’s computer servers. The search warrant, issued by Douglas County District Judge Stephen Six, sought information about the identity of an individual who had posted anonymous comments on the newspaper's website, LJWorld.com [3].

Investigators were seeking the identity of a user who had posted comments on the paper's website under the screen name "a2thek [4]." The pseudonymous user had commented [5] on an article [6] about a Kansas University student who was found dead in a KU dorm room, indicating that the death was heroin-related.

According to the Lawrence World-Journal [7], the investigator left before executing the warrant:

When presented with the search warrant, the newspaper was given the opportunity to call its attorney [Bernard Rhodes], who contacted the district attorney’s office and the court to object to the search warrant. During that time period, the KU investigator left the Journal-World offices without executing the search warrant and did not return.

Rhodes stated that he believed the search warrant was issued contrary to the federal Privacy Protection Act [8], which restricts the ability of law enforcement to conduct searches of news-gathering organizations.

On January 6, 2008, after the paper made the search warrant public, a2thek posted a follow-up comment [9] apologizing for providing inaccurate information in his earlier comment:

This infomation [sic] is not 100% correct and I would like to take some time to apologize for any mis-information. The guy that works with me I overheard in the bathrool [sic] making this speculation of what actually happened so I dont [sic] know if it's actual fact or hearsay. I do once again dont [sic] want to draw any lines or conclusions being I really dont know anything about all of it and I think the guy at work was just an aquitance [sic] and went to school with the guy and that's what he heard. I guess when a autopsy is performed that will get you the answers that your looking for. Sorry for all the misleading info once again.