We note with profound sadness the passing of Judge Sheila Abdul-Salaam. This is a tremendous loss for the Court of Appeals and for the profession as a whole.
The Court of Appeals recently considered a closely-watched case in which Facebook challenged the ability of a state prosecutor’s office to obtain information concerning its subscribers’ social media accounts. In In the Matter of 381 Search Warrants Directed to Facebook, the Court of Appeals declined to consider the constitutionality of search warrants served by the New York County District Attorney’s office on Facebook and determined that a Supreme Court order denying a motion to quash the warrants was not appealable. This was undoubtedly a disappointment to participants in the social media industry who were hoping that the court would take the opportunity to provide greater privacy protection to social media accounts.
