The article
I choose to write about dealt with the controversial topic of cops being able
to search cell phones when examining a crime scene. This whole topic was brought up during a case
that took place in Indiana. When police arrived at a location for a routine
drug bust they ended up finding a batch of cellphones. The police then searched
each cell phone for the cell phone’s telephone number. By being able to find
the telephone numbers police were allowed to trace back the call histories on
each cellphone. The call histories of each cellphone number traced the owners
to the illegal drug operation that was being investigated. One of the men who
were found guilty filled an appeal of his conviction stating that the police
had no right to search his cell phone without a warrant. The appeal ended up
not holding up in the U.S. court of appeals for the 7th circuit. The
court came to the conclusion that any infringement of the defendant's privacy
by the police was so minor that it did not violate his constitutional
protection against unreasonable search.
According to the judge, “finding an owner's number is fine, but police
can’t read text messages or look at photos stored on the phone without a
judge's permission.” The article ended with a question and it stated, “Do you
think police should be able to look at a suspect's text messages or other data
without a warrant?”
I believe this decision has left
many questions for other judges/cases to be interpreted when it comes to this
issue. I personally believe a police officer should be able to look through
some ones cell phone to be able to find out his/hers number. On the other hand I am still indecisive when
it comes to looking through text messages and pictures. If you think about it now
days a cell phone is like a computer or laptop. You are able to do so much more
now on cell phones that you were not able to do five to ten years ago. This being said you need a warrant to search
someone’s computer or laptop, so I believe you need a warrant to search someone’s
cell phone in depth. In the end I am
completely spilt in half with the decision to allow police officers to search
your cell phone. In one hand I believe you should be able to look through a
cellphone to be able to find out the cell phone number, but on the other hand I
am still not sold a 100% with allowing police officers to be able to look
through an individual’s text messages and photos. While reading the article I found it
interesting that the judge compared a cell phone to someone’s personal
diary/journal. The judge said, “Police
can open a journal to find out the owner's address, but can't read anything
else without a warrant.” In my opinion, this comparison works perfectly when
trying to define what police can or can’t do when it comes to investigating an
individual’s cell phone. This whole topic relates to the whole issue of ethics.
How much power/discretion are police allowed when it comes to investigating
evidence at a crime scene?
Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/now-cops-search-cellphones-found-crime-scenes-150243269.html
Whether or not an officer should be allowed to look through a suspect's cellphone is a real ethical dilemma. I understand on the one hand that an officer should be able to look through a cellphone to find the owner's number or information when found at the scene of a crime. But on the other hand cellphones are microcomputers that store a lot of personal information that should be secure and protected from the authority of police without a search warrant.
ReplyDeleteI find it difficult to comprehend the Appellate Court's decision. The Judge stated it is okay to look for an owner's number but not at text messages or pictures. My question is, what if a text message or picture is on the phone's screen when the officer is looking for a number. Would this constitute "plain view?" It would not be the officer's intention to view a photo that may show an illegal act being committed, but in the process of searching for the phone owner's number comes across this information. The officer cannot ignore what he or she has viewed.
In my opinion, this is a difficult situation. I believe that as a citizen I would want my privacy protected, and as a result, I believe a search warrant should be issued to search a phone. But for law enforcement, time is very valuable and it may be crucial to discover clues about a possible suspect as soon as possible by looking through a phone discovered at a crime scene. This seems to be an issue that the courts will continue to be questioned with as technology continues to evolve and our private information continues to be placed in more and more digital devices.
I think that police should be required to obtain a warrant before searching through a phone. If they already have probable cause to search in a certain situation, they should have no problem obtaining a warrant from a judge to search a cell phone. I think they should have to obtain a warrant because police shouldn't have authority in every situation to search through a cell phone if it doesn't pertain to the investigation. Say for example a police officer pulls someone over for speeding. The officer runs the persons license and they are found to have a suspended license. The officer arrests the person and searches their phone and deduces from text messages that the person is a drug dealer. This kind of situation should not be allowed. There would be no reason for the officer to think that the person was a drug dealer after arresting them for merely having a suspended license. It is a fundamental right of the Fourth Amendment that a warrant be obtained before police search; I feel that a person's right against an unreasonable search of that nature is not a minor infringement on that right, it is a major one.
ReplyDeleteThe decision by the court sounds like another case of technologically inept people passing laws on things they do not understand. You can't convince me that a cop just knows where to go to find the phone number for any random cell phone. I've had three phones in the last couple of years, all different operating systems, & except for one of them the phone number information was buried deep in the menus. The only workaround I can think of is if the cop uses the suspects cell phone to call a department issued phone thus capturing the suspects phone number on caller ID. Otherwise an officer is going to have to go through a series of menus & it's hard to believe that he or she wouldn't take a gander at the texts, pics, or other files.
ReplyDeleteBut that wasn't really the point that I wanted to make. I remember hearing last year about a department that was using a device that could scan your cell phone & extract your call logs, your gps logs, contacts, text messages, etc!! According to the article below all they needed was probable cause!
http://www.northwestohio.com/news/story.aspx?id=608644#.T1JWVPVTaqw
I think that law enforcement should be able to go through the phone's menus in order to find the number of the phone. This would be able to provide them with the information that that might need in order to help gain information about a crime or help a citizen who may be in a dangerous situation. However, in the scenario where the officer would go through the phone's texts, pictures, voicemails, etc., I think that a warrant should definitely be required. Similarly as to how the police need warrants to search computers, I would say the same for phones and other electronic devices. As someone else already mentioned, getting a warrant should be no problem if there is sufficient probable cause.
ReplyDeleteIn case mentioned, as part of a drug bust, I think everything that is seized should be considered evidence, and given all they did was acquire a number it makes it even less infringing. But as everyone else has said, I think also that a warrant should be issued to search a phone.
ReplyDeleteI think officers should be allowed to search anything they find at a crime scene. If an officer were to find letters or photos, they would look through those, so looking through texts and pictures on a cell phone should not be any different. Also, one would think if you have incriminating evidence on your cell phone, you would keep better track of it, so as to not let it fall into the hands of the police.
ReplyDeleteI think most officers are allowed to take anything they see useable to find as evidence that could help them solve a case. They should be able to I think take whatever into evidence once they are inside a house if they have a warrant. If they were not allowed to take a group of cell phones those people who lived in the house would probably destroy them as evidence. Why would we want to allow them to destroy this evidence when it can be helpful to solve a case.
ReplyDelete