San Mateo Police Raid Gizmodo Editor Home, Search For Evidence Related To Stolen iPhone

Unless you’ve been without access to any form of media for the last week, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the Gizmodo vs. Apple battle playing itself out in the blogosphere and across media nationwide. For those of you who haven’t, here’s a quick summary:

Allegedly, a drunken Apple employee left an iPhone 4G prototype on a barstool, which wound up in the hands of another bar patron, and, after a hefty transaction, in the hands of Gizmodo bloggers, who took the prototype apart and blogged enthusiastically about the new model. Word broke nationwide and the story was picked up across print and broadcast publications, before Apple demanded the return of its prototype phone (it was returned), and the situation took a nasty twist.

Gawker Media said on Monday that computers belonging to one of its editors, Jason Chen, were seized from his home on Friday as part of what is allegedly an investigation into the sale of the iPhone prototype, violating both state and federal law regarding property seizure with respect to journalists.

Gawker’s Chief Operating Officer, Gaby Darbyshire, wrote in a letter to San Mateo authorities, “Under both state and federal law, a search warrant may not be validly issued to confiscate the property of a journalist. Jason is a journalist who works full time for our company,” adding that his home, where he works, is his “de facto newsroom.”

This letter was shared by Gawker founder and president Nick Denton, who posted, “Are bloggers journalists? I guess we’ll find out.”

In his account of the situation, Chen published on Gizmodo that when he arrived at home around 9:45 pm on Fridays, he was told by authorities that they had been at his home “a few hours already” searching the home and cataloging computers and servers. According to the warrant, officers cite that they had probable cause that Mr. Chen’s home was “used as the means of committing a felony.”