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Supreme Court: Police need warrants for cell phone searches

by Joe Mobley
15 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
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Question: How many of the Supreme Court Justices sided with the majority opinion.

Answer: All of them!

Police must get a search warrant before examining the contents of cell phones they seize from people they arrest, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday
"We have entered a new world but, as the court today recognized, our old values still apply and limit the government's ability to rummage through the intimate details of our private lives," said Steven Shapiro
Supreme Court: Police need warrants for cell phone searches - SFGate

Joe Mobley
  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    There seems to be a lot of action in recent weeks that protects freedoms that the status-quo is trying to relieve us of. Hopefully, there will be a few IRS and EPA arrests for "losing" their incriminating records as well. A couple impeachments and recalls wouldn't hurt us any, either.
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    Sal
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  • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
    I personally think the scary part here is that the case had to go to the Supreme Court in the first place. While it's encouraging that it passed 9 to 0, I would've thought that a warrant requirement should've been obvious.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    If a person is locked up in a jail cell they'll never know If anyone is searching their cell phone in another part of the jail. They might not be able to use that info. in a courtroom without a search warrant but it's still possible to use that info. outside a courtroom.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      If a person is locked up in a jail cell they'll never know If anyone is searching their cell phone in another part of the jail. They might not be able to use that info. in a courtroom without a search warrant but it's still possible to use that info. outside a courtroom.
      Use it for what?
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      • Profile picture of the author waterotter
        Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

        Use it for what?
        Your "contacts" for one.
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        • Profile picture of the author ThomM
          Originally Posted by waterotter View Post

          Your "contacts" for one.
          But they can't use that information for anything if it's obtained illegally.
          Say you where arrested for drug possession and they searched your contact list on your phone without a warrant.
          If they discovered your contact because of that illegal search, any charges against that person would be thrown out of court regardless of additional evidence.
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          • Profile picture of the author waterotter
            Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

            But they can't use that information for anything if it's obtained illegally.
            Say you where arrested for drug possession and they searched your contact list on your phone without a warrant.
            If they discovered your contact because of that illegal search, any charges against that person would be thrown out of court regardless of additional evidence.
            I agree with you Thom, but there's still a lot of crooked cops out there.
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            • Profile picture of the author ThomM
              Originally Posted by waterotter View Post

              I agree with you Thom, but there's still a lot of crooked cops out there.
              Yes there is. Still a lot of dumb ones also.
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              Life: Nature's way of keeping meat fresh
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  • Profile picture of the author waterotter
    Thom,

    Say you where arrested for drug possession and they searched your contact list on your phone without a warrant.
    If they did search your contacts, what's to stop them from putting the contacts under surveillance for a period of time, then possibly nailing them on drug charges?

    How are YOU going to prove they searched your phone?

    Just sayin'
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      Originally Posted by waterotter View Post

      Thom,



      If they did search your contacts, what's to stop them from putting the contacts under surveillance for a period of time, then possibly nailing them on drug charges?

      How are YOU going to prove they searched your phone?

      Just sayin'
      That's where a good lawyer comes into play.

      Also they would have to show why they where put under surveillance in the first place.
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  • Profile picture of the author waterotter
    Also they would have to show why they where put under surveillance in the first place.
    That's where they use the decades old excuse "we received an anonymous tip".
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      Originally Posted by waterotter View Post

      That's where they use the decades old excuse "we received an anonymous tip".
      That's also where the good lawyer comes into play
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Yeah, the implications here are just DUMB! A person can never be compelled to declare all they know and MOST wouldn't be able to do so anyway. So WHY is a police officer allowed to EVER search a phone, warrant or no!?!?!? You could put bad stuff on a persons phone, get them arrested and.....

    But there IS the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine. If the police are found to have found evidence as a consequence of using data that AT THE TIME was inadmissible, all such evidence, without any surveillance or protection, must then be shown to have been static till the time they got the permission. If not, then they must prove they would have found out about it ANYWAY. If they can't, it gets thrown out.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
    I don't worry about it. My phone and its data are encrypted.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      Originally Posted by SteveJohnson View Post

      I don't worry about it. My phone and its data are encrypted.
      I've got a dumb phone myself so there's not much they could get.
      On the up side maybe if they went over my contact list they could tell me who most of them are.
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