When Can Police Search Cell Phones?

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented in May 2014. After we discuss the MediaNote, Your Humble Blogger will tell you how the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in this case.

You are stopped for a minor traffic violation. Police find guns in your car. Concerned that you might be a dangerous criminal, police seize your cellphone. They search for photos, emails, text messages, phone numbers and anything else indicating criminality. Is this good, attentive police work or is it unreasonable search and seizure? The Supreme Court of the United States will soon decide if a cellphone search is more like a search of a suspected criminal's automobile (which does not need a search warrant) or more like a search of a suspected criminal's home (which DOES need a search warrant). NPR reports.

Questions...

•What types of information do you leave on your cellphone?

•In terms of providing information about you, is a cellphone more like a wallet, or more like a person's home? Why?

•Do you think the police acted responsibly in the San Diego case? Why or why not?

•If police are able to search cellphones of suspected criminals without a warrant, how will it affect us as individuals and as a larger society?