An Unreasonable Expectation? Warrantless Searches of Cell Phones
Cell phones today have nearly the capabilities of a personal computer. A survey last year revealed that 88% of adults in the US own a cell phone, and 55% of all adult cell phone owners use their phones for Internet or email. In particular, the courts have not reached a consensus regarding the legali...
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Published in | Brigham Young University law review Vol. 2013; no. 5; p. 1363 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Provo
Brigham Young University, Reuben Clark Law School
01.09.2013
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Cell phones today have nearly the capabilities of a personal computer. A survey last year revealed that 88% of adults in the US own a cell phone, and 55% of all adult cell phone owners use their phones for Internet or email. In particular, the courts have not reached a consensus regarding the legality of warrantless cell phone searches incident-to-arrest. Part II of this paper addresses the history and justification of warrantless searches starting with Katz v. US, and exceptions to the general warrant requirement in Chimel v. California and Arizona v. Gant. Part III of this paper examines the array of approaches taken by the various courts that have addressed this issue, with emphasis on the reasons and justifications given by the various courts. Part IV explains that because the courts have failed to fully appreciate the extensive role cell phones play in modern society and the attendant expectation of privacy, existing jurisprudence fails to appropriately address cell phone searches incident-to-arrest. |
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ISSN: | 0360-151X 2162-8572 |