Tagged: cell phone

TODAY – Cell Phone Searches after Riley: Investigative and Evidentiary

Pace Criminal Justice Institute is co-hosting a CLE TODAY – Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm titled Cell Phone Searches after Riley: Investigative and Evidentiary, in the Law Library Moot Court Room, at Pace Law School, White Plains, NY.

Join the panel of speakers including Professors David Bender, David Dorfman, and Bennett Gershman, Bronx A.D.A. and ’88 alumni Thomas Kapp, and Town of Greenburgh Chief of Police and ’06 alumni Chris McNerney as they discuss the implications of the United States Supreme Court decision Riley v. California, No. 13-132, 13-212, 134 S.Ct. 2473, 189 L.Ed.2d 430 (2014). In Riley, the Court consolidated two criminal appeals that both involved a defendant challenging the admissibility of evidence found during police officers’ warrantless search of data stored on the defendant’s cell phone.

Attendees can earn up to 2.5 CLE skills credit. We look forward to seeing you there!

Warrantless Cellphone Search Decision: Resources

Last week, on June 25, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Riley v. California, a decision combining California and Massachusetts cases challenging the warrantless search an arrestee’s cellphone incident to arrest. The Court unanimously concluded that the police are not entitled to search a cell phone incident to arrest without a warrant, absent exigent circumstance, and as such must seek a properly executed warrant to search a cellphone.  This decision was almost instantaneously covered by a number of newspapers, reporters, and bloggers, and we bring you a short compilation of some of the online coverage.

The U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

Pre-Decision Coverage

Post-Decision Newspaper Articles & Blog Posts

Click here, to explore recent (2014 on) scholarly articles on the subject.

SCOTUS Agrees to Hear and Resolve Search of Cell Phones Incident to Arrest

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in two cases involving searches of cell phones incident to arrest. Riley v. California, No. 13-132, review granted 1/17/14; United States v. Wurie, No. 13-212, review granted 1/17/14.

There is a split of authority on this issue:  some courts have held that existing Supreme Court precedent involving search incident to arrest is applicable, i.e., that a phone is no different than any other hand-held container and may be searched incident to arrest without a warrant, probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion.  Other courts have refused to apply that precedent, treating cell phones as sui generis because of the tremendous amount of personal information contained in a typical smart phone.

In Wurie, the First Circuit held that mobile phones are different from the containers other courts have allowed to be searched incident to arrest. It held unconstitutional a police search of the defendant’s numbers in the call log on his mobile phone incident to his arrest.  United States v. Wurie, 728 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2013).  In Riley, the California state court upheld a warrantless search of the defendant’s mobile phone address book, photographs and videos incident to his arrest for a firearms offense that then linked him to a drive-by shooting. People v. Riley, No. SCD226240, 2013 WL 475242 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013) (not certified for publication in official reports and not to be cited pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 8.1115(a) except as provided in Rule 8.1115(b)).