The Justice Department filed a memo today making the case for detaining terrorist suspect Najibullah Zazi. It’s a pretty riveting read. Of particular interest to me was the important role of computer forensics. By analyzing Zazi’s computer, the government was able to reconstruct Zazi’s web browsing history and show the details of the alleged plot to gather the chemicals for the bomb. I’m not at all surprised by the role of the computer search, but it’s a high-profile example of how computer forensics is becoming an increasingly important part of major criminal cases.