In a unanimous decision Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled it illegal for police to search cell phones and smartphones without a warrant during arrests.
The ruling was based on two cases out of California and Massachusetts where the justices weighed the right to privacy in correlation with the need to further investigate crimes and their suspects. Ultimately, the nation's highest court ruled in the favor of privacy.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a statement that "privacy comes at a cost" and they understand that their decision "will have an impact on the ability of law enforcement to combat crime."
Police and law enforcement officials will now be limited to evidence that is within physical reach.
In the past few years several decisions have been made involving how law enforcement can react to suspects. Police have been given the right to swab a suspect’s cheek in order to store the DNA in the unsolved crimes database as well as permission to conduct strip searches without reasonable suspicion.
However, some things remain illegal against United States Constitution 4th Amendment. Attaching a GPS device to a suspect’s car, obtaining blood from a suspected drunk driver if they refuse to take a Breathalyzer, and bringing a drug sniffing dog to a person’s house are all against the law. Now we can add searching cell phones without a warrant to that list.
(USA Today)
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