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CA5: Search incident of defendant's cell phone incident to arrest on a warrant was valid

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant’s cell phone was validly search incident to his arrest under Fifth Circuit authority. United States v. Curtis, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 5002 (5th Cir. March 11, 2011)*: In United States v. Finley, we held that the police can search the contents of an arrestee’s cell phone incident to a valid arrest. In Finley, the police arrested the defendant after a reverse-sting drug sale. They searched his person following the arrest and seized a cell phone they found in his pocket. The police then transported the defendant to a different location for questioning. During the questioning, the arresting officer scrolled through the text messages on the defendant's phone. The officer discovered some incriminating text messages that were admitted against the defendant at trial...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 17, 2011 (boomark / email).