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US Supreme Court May Consider Cell Phone Privacy

Can the police warrantlessly search the emails, texts, and address book on your cell phone if you are arrested? The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to address that question in the upcoming term. Two cases pending before the Court ask whether, under the Fourth Amendment, a cell phone's contents can be searched incident to an arrest without a warrant. In Riley v. California, the defendant Riley challenges a police officer's search of his smartphone. In United States v. Wurie, the Department of Justice seeks review of an appeals court's decision that warrants are necessary to search a cell phone. EPIC recently argued successfully to the New Jersey Supreme Court that a warrant is required to track a cell phone's location. The U.S. Supreme Court held last year in United States v. Jones that warrants are required to use GPS tracking devices. For more information, see EPIC: Riley v. California.


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