United States v. Pelletier, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 24016 (7th Cir. Ill. Nov. 21, 2012)

Pelletier applied for a job with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). As part of the application process, he went to the FBI office to undergo a personnel security interview and to take a polygraph examination. Pelletier failed the polygraph examination. When the polygraph examiner asked him how he thought he did, Pelletier told him that he had some trouble with some of the questions because of a set of files on his home computer that contained images of naked children. The polygraph examiner then invited an agent from the Cyber Crimes Unit to join them. The agent did not Mirandize Pelletier who admitted to downloading child pornography from the internet for a graduate school research project. The agent asked Pelletier for consent to search his computer but Pelletier refused. The agent left the room and directed other agents to go to Pelletier's home and secure it until a search warrant or consent could be obtained. The agent also contacted federal and state prosecutors about obtaining search warrants for Pelletier's home and computer. The agent returned to the interview room and told Pelletier if he did not consent to a search that he was going to apply for a search warrant. Pelletier signed a written consent to search form and was allowed to leave. As he left, Pelletier asked the agent if "this was going to slow down the application process." It did. The FBI found over six hundred images of child pornography on Pelletier's computer and instead of hiring him, arrested him.

Download the opinion here: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/12-1274/12-1274-2012-11-21.pdf