People use cell phones to listen to music, get directions,
and communicate via text, email, and video (see this Pew
Fact Sheet). Should the police be
able to access all of this data without a warrant? Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear oral
arguments in two cases on this subject (see this brief summary from the ABA
Journal).
In 2009, the Ohio
Supreme Court heard a similar
case, holding “the
warrantless search of data within a cell phone seized incident to a lawful
arrest is prohibited by the Fourth Amendment when the search is unnecessary for
the safety of law-enforcement officers and there are no exigent circumstances.” Stay tuned to see whether the United States
Supreme Court agrees.