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New law review article: "Password Protected? Can a Password Save Your Cell Phone from the Search Incident to Arrest Doctrine?"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Adam M. Gershowitz, Password Protected? Can a Password Save Your Cell Phone from the Search Incident to Arrest Doctrine?, forthcoming from the Iowa Law Review. Abstract: Over the last few years, dozens of courts have authorized police to conduct warrantless searches of cell phones when arresting individuals. Under the so-called search incident to arrest doctrine, police are free to search text messages, call histories, photos, voicemails, and a host of other data if they arrest an individual and remove a cell phone from his pocket. Given that courts have offered little protection against cell phone searches, this article explores whether individuals can protect themselves by password protecting their phones. The article concludes, unfortunately, that password protecting a cell phone offers minimal legal protection...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 09, 2010 (boomark / email).