“That is enough,” Mr. Sterling interrupted, stepping between Ethan and Cassandra. “Your Honor, this is stolen property. The court cannot accept evidence obtained through a criminal act.”

I stood up from my seat at the petitioner’s table.

“Your Honor, if I may,” I said.

Judge Vane nodded once, signaling me to speak.

“The rules of evidence regarding third-party theft are clear,” I said, my voice growing stronger as the investigator training took over. “The government did not participate in or encourage the retrieval of these keys. Ethan acted entirely on his own initiative as a private citizen.”

I looked at Sterling, who was glaring at me.

“Therefore,” I continued, “the exclusionary rule does not apply. The keys are fully admissible to verify the authenticity of the digital archive I submitted to this court.”

Judge Vane rubbed his chin, looking from me to the USB drive.

“Ms. Mercer is correct on the law, Mr. Sterling,” the judge said.

Sterling’s mouth tightened into a hard, straight line.

“Even if that is true, Your Honor, we have no verification that this drive contains what Mr. Mercer claims it does,” Sterling said. “It could be empty. It could contain malware.”