Think Your Cell Calls Are Private?

First law enforcement claimed the right to track your whereabouts via your cell phone. Now the California Supreme Court has said police don't need a warrant to search your cell phone. If you're arrested, police can look at numbers you called and text messages you sent.

January 9, 2011

It's a worrisome precedent. Might police also claim the right to search other electronic possessions you might be carrying when you're arrested, such as smart phones, tablet devices, and even laptops? All without a warrant?

Here's how the court reasoned that no warrant is needed: "The cell phone was an item (of personal property) on (Diaz's) person [Diaz was the criminal defendant in the case] at the time of his arrest and during the administrative processing at the police station. Because the cell phone was immediately associated with defendant's person, (police were) entitled to inspect its contents without a warrant."

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