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CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULES THAT: LAW ENFORCEMENT CAN SEARCH ENTIRE CONTENT OF YOUR CELL PHONE IF YOU ARE ARRESTED

By Walin & Klarich

On January 3, 2011, the California Supreme Court ruled in People v. Diaz that a warrantless search of an arrestee?s cell phone contents did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Appellant Gregory Diaz was arrested after participating in an alleged drug sale with a police informant. A detective searched Diaz? person pursuant to Diaz? arrest and found a cell phone. About 90 minutes after Diaz? arrest, a deputy sheriff warrantlessly searched Diaz? text message folder, which contained a text indicating that Diaz was selling the drug Ecstasy. The Fourth Amendment protects people against searches and seizures. Thus, the main issue was whether it was ?reasonable? to search an arrestee?s cell phone without a warrant. The California Supreme Court ruled that the warrantless cell phone search was reasonable...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on January 04, 2011 (boomark / email).