State of Minnesota v. Dylan Stephen Gaul

Owatonna, Minnesota criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.



State of Minnesota charged appellant Dylan Stephen Gaul with fourthdegree criminal sexual conduct based on emails Gaul exchanged with a 14-year-old publicschool student. Gaul filed a motion to suppress the evidence against him. Gaul argued that the emails he sent to the student's school-owned email account were subject to an unconstitutional, warrantless search by the school when it used protective software to scan the emails. In support of this argument, he asserts that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in email communications under the federal and state constitutions. After a contested omnibus hearing, the district court denied his motion. Gaul stipulated to the state's case to obtain review of the pretrial ruling, and the district court found him guilty of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. On appeal, Gaul argues that his conviction must be reversed because (1) the district court's finding that the search occurred after his emails arrived on the school server was clearly erroneous, and (2) he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his email communications.



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A criminal defendant does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in emails knowingly sent to a student's school-owned email account and received on a public school's server.



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Legal issue Can a person have a reasonable expectation of privacy in emails sent to a student's school-owned email account and stored on a public school's server?

Key Phrases Reasonable expectation of privacy. Warrantless search. School-owned email account. Fourth Amendment protections. Criminal sexual conduct.

Affirmed