Big news this past Friday that SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the US) will take up two cases related to warrantless searches of arrestees' cell phones.
As a general matter, the 4th Amendment requires police to obtain a warrant before searching or seizing one's personal effects. However, SCOTUS has established several exceptions to the general rule including an exception that, after one is arrested, police may search and seize items on the person or within the person's wingspan in order to promote officer safety and prevent destruction of readily-available evidence.
The question being considered by SCOTUS in these cases is whether cell phones are unique because of the wealth of hyper-personal information contained within them or whether they are indistinguishable from other personal effects like car keys, wallets, address and appointment books (remember those?), folded handwritten notes, and the like.
Circuit courts are split on the issue and the hope is that SCOTUS solves the circuit split and provides a clear rule (preferably clearer than the GPS ruling last session!) on the treatment of arrestees' cell phones.
No comments:
Post a Comment