Last week, the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to rule that the Fourth Amendment allows for warrant-less cell phone searches. The administration filed a petition asking the SCOTUS to hear a 2007 case in which information was retrieved from a cell phone that was used to obtain evidence against the defendant.
The defendant was subsequently convicted but upon appeal argued that the information obtained from his phone was a Fourth Amendment violation since it was obtained without a warrant. The First Circuit Court accepted this argument.
The Obama administration countered the Court’s decision, maintaining it is in conflict with previous rulings that allow the police broad discretion to search possessions of a suspect. The government argued that a cell phone is no different than other possessions.