Warrantless Search of Cell Phones in California Stays Alive

Written by kelly.solid Tuesday, 13 December 2011 07:43

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation that would require a court order for law enforcement search of cell phones in California.  This is a victory for law enforcement and a defeat for the ACLU.

Mobile forensics or cell forensics information acquired from cell phones are increasing as more and more as agencies incorporate tools like the Cellebrite UFED, XRY, SecureView and THREADS into their investigative process. As the need for this type of investigative analysis has increased, so has the debate about warrantless searches has escalated.

“Most police across the country are given wide latitude to search persons incident to an arrest based on the premise of officer safety. Now the nation’s states are beginning to grapple with the warrantless searches of mobile phones done at the time of an arrest.” Let’s hope for law enforcement’s case that Gov. Brown’s veto sets a precedent of where this thing is heading.