The search warrant lists petty theft and computer tampering with the intent to harass as potential crimes. Pataky, who was away on a business trip when the raid occurred, says he has yet to see an affidavit that explains why they had probable cause to conduct the raid. 

The search warrant provides little insight into what police believe Pataky has done.  It does, however, mention repeatedly that police were to search for personal correspondence between Pataky and "Dave Barnes."  According to The Arizona Republic, Barnes is a former Phoenix homicide detective who went public in 2007 with claims of mismanaged evidence at the city's crime lab. In May 2009, Barnes' home also was raided by police due to his alleged "involvement in what some officers perceived to be a connection to a blog critical of the police leaders," the Republic reported at the time.

Carlos Miller, who runs the Photography is Not a Crime Blog, is reporting that Pataky recently filed a lawsuit over the raid, which netted three computers, routers, modems, hard drives, memory cards and everything necessary to continue blogging. Pataky told Miller that he has not let the raid stop him from blogging, however, "They thought they were going to scare us into a corner but they just made us stronger." 

Update:

07/14/09: Pataky filed a lawsuit against the City of Phoenix and the officers involved  in the raid. Pataky's six-count complaint alleges abuse of process, intentional infliction of emotional distress, harassment, and violation of privacy.

12/17/09: The Reporters Committee reports that Federal Judge James A. Teilborg dismissed Pataky's lawsuit against the city, ruling that the Privacy Protection Act does not apply when the "person possessing the materials is a criminal suspect - rather than an innocent third party - and the police have probable cause."

01/06/10:  Notice of appeal filed by plaintiff Pataky in his lawsuit against the City of Phoenix. 

02/01/10: Carlos Miller reports that a grand jury refused to indict Pataky on the charges related to the search warrant.

03/03/10: Appellant Pataky files a motion to dismiss his appeal of the dismissal of his lawsuit against the City of Phoenix. 

03/05/10: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit grants appellant Pataky's motion to dismiss.

J.P. Weichel has been charged with two counts of criminal libel after allegedly posting comments about a former girlfriend and her lawyer on Craigslist.com's "Rants and Raves" section.  According to the Loveland Connection:

The case in Loveland began when a woman approached the Loveland Police Department in December 2007 about multiple postings made about her between November and December 2007. At least one post suggests that she traded sexual acts for legal services from her attorney, according to court records. There's also mention about a child services visit made because of an injury found on her child.

Police obtained search warrants for records from Craigslist.com and other Web sites and identified J.P. Weichel as the suspect, the former boyfriend of the woman, who shares a child with her. In August, detectives confronted Weichel at his workplace, where police said he admitted to the postings because he was "just venting," according to the court file.

It appears that Weichel has been charged under Colorado's criminal libel law, Colo. Rev. Stat. 18-13-105, which defines criminal libel as follows:

(1) A person who shall knowingly publish or disseminate, either by written instrument, sign, pictures, or the like, any statement or object tending to blacken the memory of one who is dead, or to impeach the honesty, integrity, virtue, or reputation or expose the natural defects of one who is alive, and thereby to expose him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule, commits criminal libel.

(2) It shall be an affirmative defense that the publication was true, except libels tending to blacken the memory of the dead and libels tending to expose the natural defects of the living.

The charges against Weichel constitute a class 6 felony that carry a punishment of up to 18 months in prison.  A hearing is scheduled for December 2008.

Update:

5/14/09 - Weichel pled guilty to two counts of harassment and received four years probation, a five hundred dollar fine, and sixty hours of community service.