Wednesday, April 30, 2014

On Tues. the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument (Riley v. CA & U.S. v. Wurie) on whether police need to get a warrant to "search" the cellphone of a person who is lawfully arrested.  Most lower courts have held that a warrant is not necessary and that such phones can be searched under the "search incident to lawful arrest" exception to the warrant requirement.  There are good arguments on both sides.  The questions and comments by the Justices suggest they are divided on the issue. As usual, Justice Kennedy may provide the swing vote for one side or the other.  Given the vast amounts of personal information on many such phones and the fact that the privacy interest of others (e.g. those who left messages, etc.) is involved should tip the scales in favor of the defendant or at least result in special protections if the searches are allowed without a warrant.

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