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SCOTUS grants cert in privacy in work text massages case: City of Ontario v. Quon

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

SCOTUS granted cert today in the text message case of City of Ontario v. Quon, 08-1338. SCOTUSBlog here, but referring to USA Mobility Wireless v. Quon: Among the three new cases the Justices voted to hear, the one with the widest impact appeared to be the case appealed by the city of Ontario, Calif., and its police department — a Digital Age dispute involving the ubiquitous hand-held communication device. The petition tests whether there is a constitutionally-based right of privacy in text messages for employees of a government agency and, if there is such a right, whether it is less extensive for city employees using government-owned electronic pagers. The case involved the city’s review of text messages that a member of a police SWAT, or emergency response, team had sent to another officer with whom he was having a romantic affair, and also messages he had sent to his wife...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 14, 2009 (boomark / email).