SCOTUS to Police on Cellphone Searches: "Get a warrant"

By Cynthia J. Larose

Finding that cellphones contain the "privacies of life", the U.S. Supreme Court issued a broad endorsement of cell phone privacy, unanimously holding that law enforcement may not search digital information seized from an arrestee’s person without first obtaining a warrant.  The high court was persuaded by the massive quantity of evidence, distinct types of information and pervasiveness of use of cell phones, as well as the private and sensitive nature of information phones hold, ranging from the financial and medical to the intimate.  The court ruled in this way despite the undeniable impact it will have on law enforcement.  This ruling is likely to have wide-ranging effects, including on tablets, laptops and potentially other technology.

Mintz Levin's Bridget Rohde analyzes the landmark Riley v. U.S. decision in a piece for Law360.   Read it here.

 

 

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Cynthia J. Larose

Member / Chair, Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice

Cynthia J. Larose is Chair of the firm's Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice, a Certified Information Privacy Professional-US (CIPP-US), and a Certified Information Privacy Professional-Europe (CIPP-E). She works with clients in various industries to develop comprehensive information security programs on the front end, and provides timely counsel when it becomes necessary to respond to a data breach.