The Supreme Court rules the police need a warrant to search cell phones

  How about a little bit of good news for a change? Consider this the feel-good story of the day.

  Today the Supreme Court, in a rare unanimous decision, ruled that police must obtain a search warrant before they can look through a person’s cell phone, extending the fourth amendment right to include these devices.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that police cannot go snooping through people’s cell phones without a warrant, in a unanimous decision that amounts to a major statement in favor of privacy rights.

Police agencies had argued that searching through the data on cell phones was no different than asking someone to turn out his pockets, but the justices rejected that, saying a cell phone is more fundamental.

The ruling amounts to a 21st century update to legal understanding of privacy rights.

“The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the unanimous court.

“Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone seized incident to an arrest is accordingly simple— get a warrant.”

  To me this was a no-brainer, and I think the unanimous decision confirms this, but the truth is since the individual mandate was ruled Constitutional I simply no longer know what to expect from the Supreme Court.

  Thankfully they got this one right.