In a recent United States Supreme Court ruling (Riley v. California No. 13-132 Decided June 25 2014,) the court held that police must obtain a warrant before searching cell phones. This important case protects the public from the police simply looking through your cell phone during an investigation, or after an arrest. Most defendants believe that the police have the right to go through their personal belongings including their cell phones once they are placed under arrest. This is not the case. Police often search through a person's cell phone in hopes of discovering other crimninal activity or other incriminating information. The fact is, more often than not the police do find a wealth of information that they later use against the defendant. The public needs to know that they have the right to refuse an officer's request to look at their cell phone. In my 30 years of practicing criminal defense, I always say if the police ask permission to search your belongings they provbably do not have a right to search it. Unfortunately most of us usually comply with the officer's request because we do not know that we have the right to say no.
The Supreme Court is reminding us that we have the right to say no!
Raymond Cassar
www.crimlawattorney.com