After it was reported today that police raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s home with a search warrant this weekend in connection with last week’s iPhone leak, TechCrunch is reporting that authorities are not yet looking through the evidence they obtained (which included four computers and two servers). Gizmodo’s attorneys have claimed that Chen should be protected by California’s shield laws, which protect journalists from having to turn over their sources and any information they’ve gathered in their reporting. Stephen Wagstaffe, the chief deputy officer of the San Mateo County D.A.’s office, said they will wait to begin going through Chen’s possessions until it’s been determined if shield laws are relevant in this case. (He admitted it was “unusual” for a D.A.’s office to evaluate whether shield laws applied after taking evidence.) Wagstaffe told TechCrunch that the case “is just an investigation” at the moment and neither Gawker nor the person who found the phone are currently being targeted; right now, they’re “looking at any hand that touched or had something to do with this phone.”
iPhone Leak Investigation Pauses As DA Ponders Gizmodo Shield Law Defense [TechCrunch]
