Cops Can Search Texts Without a Warrant
The California Supreme Court ruled that police officers are able to search through text messages on your phone without a warrant after you are arrested. The logic follows from the ability of the police to search anything on your person after you are under arrest, and they decided that searching through your phone follows from that right, similar to searching through a notebook or written receipts you may have in your pockets.Previous ruling have allowed searching withing containers, such as to find heroin inside a cigarette pack. According to the report by NPR, the court ruled with a 5-2 decision, with the 2 dissenting judges stating that they didn’t think that right should be extended to electronic devices.
The implications of this decision can be significant. Most people do not delete their texts, so there could be information from months or years prior that the police can use against you.
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Also via LA Weekly.
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