Preventive Medicine Associates, Inc. v. Commonwealth

This case concerns the search by the Commonwealth of electronic mail messages (e-mails) of a criminal defendant after he has been indicted. Because the e-mails sought by the Commonwealth are intermingled with many other e-mails that are likely to be protected by the attorney-client privilege, the case concerns more particularly the intersection between search and seizure law and that privilege.

The issue arises in the following context. On behalf of the Commonwealth, the Attorney General sought, and a grand jury returned, indictments charging the defendants, Preventive Medicine Associates,…