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Public interest group says iPhone search warrant docs should be made public

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Secret documents justifying a search warrant in an investigation of an iPhone prototype, which prosecutors say was reported stolen, should be made public, media organizations said in a court filing, reports “Bloomberg” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=ajLGdFnokgF4).

The First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit public interest group, and six media organizations asked a state judge in Redwood City, California, yesterday to unseal an affidavit filed by investigators who obtained a warrant to search the home of a technology blog editor. The blog “Gizmodo.com” said it paid a 21-year-old college studentUS $5,000 for the phone, after it was found in a bar in March.

“A warrant is a very intrusive device, especially for a journalist,” Peter Scheer, an attorney and executive director of the San Rafael, California-based media group, said in a phone interview with “Bloomberg.” “Affidavits are supposed to be public records and the public has a legitimate interest in seeing that the process used to get the warrant was fair.”

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