amicus cell phone Commonwealth v. White EPIC Amicus Filing Jackson Riley v. California student privacy
EPIC Urges Appeals Court to Uphold Fourth Amendment Protections for Searches of Students' Cell Phones
EPIC has filed an amicus brief with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Jackson v. McCurry, stating that teachers may not search a student's cell phone unless they have followed an explicit school policy that complies with Fourth Amendment requirements. Citing a recent Supreme Court opinion, EPIC explained, "after Riley, searches of students' cell phones require heightened privacy protections." Noting that "most teenagers today could not survive without a cellphone," EPIC wrote that searches of cell phones should be "limited to those circumstances when it is strictly necessary." EPIC previously participated as amicus curiae in Riley v. California, arguing that the search of a cellphone requires a warrant, and Commonwealth v. White, a case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, arguing that a warrant is required before a school may turn over a student's cell phone to the police. Both cases produced favorable outcomes.
March 13, 2018| Share:
