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M.D.Fla.: SI of cell phone for driving on a suspended license unreasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Search incident of a cell phone for driving on a suspended license was unwarranted and suppressed, even though it was intended to find information relating to the smell of marijuana in the car. United States v. Quintana, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108276 (M.D. Fla. December 10, 2008). Here, rather than seeking to preserve evidence that Defendant was driving with a suspended license, Garcia was rummaging for information related to the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle. Where a defendant is arrested for drug-related activity, police may be justified in searching the contents of a cell phone for evidence related to the crime of arrest, even if the presence of such evidence is improbable. In this case, however, Defendant was arrested for driving with a suspended license...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 13, 2009 (boomark / email).