June 18, 2003 Evidence Barred in Ex-O.C. Judge's Child-Porn Case Writings and photos were illegally obtained from Ronald Kline's computer, court rules. By Christine Hanley, Times Staff Writer A federal judge on Tuesday threw out most of the key evidence in a high-profile child pornography case against a former Orange County judge, ruling that sexually explicit diary entries and photos were discovered after illegal computer searches by a Canadian hacker who was working for police. The ruling could undermine much of the case against Ronald C. Kline, whose arrest drew national attention and ultimately resulted in the judge dropping his bid for reelection. U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall in Los Angeles found that Kline's 4th Amendment privacy rights were violated when Bradley Willman of Langley, British Columbia, invaded his home computer with a so-called Trojan Horse virus. In a 12-page decision, Marshall suppressed all the evidence seized from Kline's home and his home computer, including excerpts from a computer diary about his sexual desires and more than 1,500 pornographic photos of young boys. "The Court finds that Bradley Willman was a government agent at the time of the intrusion, that Willman thought of himself as an agent for law enforcement, and that Willman's motivation was to act for law enforcement purposes," Marshall wrote. Willman, the judge ruled, was acting as a tool for police and  as with any law enforcement agent  would be barred from seizing any personal property without a search warrant. Marshall left open the question of whether material seized from Kline's courthouse computer will be allowed, asking both sides to return Sept. 15 to discuss that matter. <snip> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kline18jun18,1,5480864.story?coll=la...