Defense asks judge in NYC to toss out bulk of evidence in Silk Road case as illegally obtained

Lawyers for a San Francisco man charged with operating an online marketplace for illegal drugs are asking a judge in New York to toss out most of the evidence against him.

The lawyers say in court papers that the government violated the Fourth Amendment ban on illegal searches and seizures when it searched the online history of Ross Ulbricht.

Ulbricht is awaiting trial in Manhattan federal court on charges of narcotics trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty.

His lawyers wrote that much of the evidence should be thrown out because it resulted from searches of his entire digital history.

The defense papers were filed Friday. A prosecutor's spokeswoman declined to comment Monday.

The trial is scheduled to start Nov. 3.