Judges aren't generally known for their tech savvy. John Facciola was one of the exceptions. Facciola, who is 69, retired earlier this year as a federal magistrate in Washington, D.C., after nearly two decades on the bench. He has long been a leading voice on issues about technology and the law, regularly speaking at events and writing about the use of electronically stored information in ­litigation.

Facciola was in the national spotlight last year for rejecting what he called “overbroad” demands from federal prosecutors for electronic information. “In essence,” he wrote in a March 2014 ruling, the government's search warrant applications “ask for the entire universe of information tied to a particular account, even if it has established probable cause only for certain information.” He spoke with reporter Zoe Tillman. An edited version of their conversation follows.

Zoe Tillman: Talk about whether the job of being a magistrate judge has changed since you started in 1997.