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4th Amendment Case Study

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Per this rule, the issue is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. David Riley was driving with expired tags when he was arrested. The police impounded the car when they realized that his license was suspended. Policy states that when a car is impounded, an inventory search must be conducted. He was arrested for possession of loaded firearms. The officer seized a smartphone from his pants. The record is not clear as to what the officers did with this cell phone, but there is no doubt that an officer went through the text messages. Later on a detective that specialized in gang investigations also searched the phone at the police station. This detective not only went through text messages, but also pictures and videos. Based on what was found, …show more content…

Diaz that the police are not required to have a warrant in order to search the information on someone’s phone at the time of their arrest. In this case checking Diaz’s phone was lawful because it occurred during a search incident to arrest. A search incident to a lawful arrest allows police to perform a warrantless search of an arrested person in the interest of officer safety, destruction of evidence and prevention of escape. Based on this ruling, the digital contents of a cell phone do not threaten the safety of police officers. It makes sense for officers to secure the phone to make sure there is no potential harm, but data on the phone cannot harm anybody. There where no exigent circumstances in Mr. Riley’s case to search his cell phone. Evidence stored on a phone can be destroyed remotely. If individuals were anticipating their arrest, they could have their phone’s data wiped completely. Police officers might choose to go through the phone right then and there to make sure that evidence can’t be destroyed, but this is not the only option. Remote wiping can be prevented. Officers can just turn off the phone or remove its battery. Another option is placing the phone in an enclosure that isolates it from radio

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But, that was not the case and the officers did pursue sam without probable cause. Evidence that was founded by taking an individual’s rights is illegal and cannot be used in

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Smart phones association argues that phones reveal the most private and intimate information which includes the records of websites that have been visited, text messages with friends and family and the recorded video clips and images of an average American. Amici also argued that if police are able to search the phones of individuals who are suspects of a crime without any warrant and get access through the data that is available in it then they might use this information for investigation. Amici also states that smart phones are similar to personal computers and can be considered as the path to owner’s mind and also they contain the most private and intimate thoughts of a person and can be considered as the modern repository for thoughts. Since the phones are very personal, Amici argues that they cannot be searched during a routine police check and in order to check them the police has to have a

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The writ questioned “Whether or under what circumstances the Fourth Amendment permits police officers to conduct a warrantless search of the digital contents of an individual’s cell phone seized from the person at the time of arrest”, SCOTUSblog.com; and it was granted on January 17, 2014 in part because Federal and State Courts had openly divided opinions over this issue. Riley v. California was argued on April 29, 2014 and a decision was made on June 25, 2014. The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. declared by a unanimous decision that a warrantless cell phone search violates the Fourth Amendment right to privacy. The court stated that the warrantless search exception (SITA) does not apply to this case because digital data store in an electronic device cannot be used as a weapon to harm officers. Although, the court recognizes that possible evidence stored on a cell phone may be wiped remotely, it also acknowledges that it could be avoided by disconnecting the cell phone from the network and placing it in a Faraday bag.

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These actions did not go by what was established by an earlier, similar case, and by performing the scan with no warrant, the government did not allow DLK to conduct private activities in his own home. Although some argue that the government’s actions were acceptable because they only scanned what was visible to the public, they still used a device not readily available to the public to see inside DLK’s home. The government’s actions were unacceptable, and a warrant should have been obtained prior to performing the search in order to make it

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The Fourth Amendment requires a probable cause for arrest. Substantially, particular things are needed to legally conduct a search or seizure. This incorporates arrest, so a search, a seizure, or an arrest cannot take place without reason. Not to mention, there must be a "court order" for Apple to give the government "customer data." So, since a “court order” must be in place for Apple to give the government “customer data,” that “court order” would have to also take place for an arrest that could conceivably follow.

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The First Amendment is the most important, because of freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Many people think that the fourth amendment is the most important. They think this, because it is important for a person to be able to tell policemen “No” if they ask you if they could search your car or your house. I believe that the fourth amendment is really important, but you wouldn’t be able to tell the policemen “No” if you didn’t have freedom of speech. George Washington said,”If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be, like sheep to the slaughter” (“Famous Quotes Freedom of Speech”).Without freedom of speech and religion we are nothing.

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But the law is outdated and does not cover modern devices and online communication. Are Apple and Google willing to let bad guys walk away just like that? Certainly, that is what the latest default encryption means to the FBI. By locking out the phone for police, what do the tech giants aim to achieve in law and order? Comney further added.

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The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures (Hall, 2014). In the scenario, it is important to remember that the employer is a government entity and the Fourth Amendment was originally designed to limit government authority as it applies to unreasonable searches and seizures (Hall, 2014). You would not be able to make a strong argument that the government violated the Fourth Amendment in this scenario. The property, whether it is a laptop, cell phone, or tablet, belongs to the government. Government entities have policies that employees must read and sign specifically acknowledging there is no expectation of privacy on these devices owned by the government.

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Police body camera video will provide a court with the view that legally matters. This footage also shows the public what the officer saw and heard to understand the officer’s actions. Therefore, putting the public in the officer’s position and giving them the situation on hand to determine whether the actions taken were rational. The body camera can ensure that the public does not see only the confrontational piece of the encounter that may only be captured on a cellphone. With the use of body cameras, the entire interaction should be recorded so that the focus is not only on the final frame of the incident, and the reviewing court of the matter and the public will be able to see the actions leading up to the confrontational part of the

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The usage of body-worn cameras while a police officer is on duty allows change in the way police work in the department. However, for many individuals the usage of body-cameras raises the concern of their vital privacy that every one has the right to have here in the Unites

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The article “Justice Department Allocates $20 Million for Body Cameras” by Christina Beck it states, "These grants will help more than 100 law enforcement agencies promote transparency and ensure accountability, clearing the way for the closer cooperation between residents and officers that is so vital to public safety” (Beck). This shows how the use of these devices can help ensure the cooperation of citizens. It also oversees the actions of the officers and whether force was necessary. This article contributes this idea by stating, “Some existing laws that govern what information is released to the public are on the chopping block, as states try to strike the balance between a citizen's rights to privacy and making officers answer for their actions” (Sullivan). This shows citizens have the right to privacy, meanwhile is an officer uses unnecessary force they may have some questions to answer for their chief or Sergeant.

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Cell phone can unveil information within our call history, text messages, pictures, and even internet searches. Access to our cell phones is like access to our lives. No matter how much time passes, the fourth amendment continues to

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“These phones that we hold in our pockets take note of what we buy, where and when we buy it, how much money we have in the bank, whom we text and e-mail, what web sites we visit, how and where we travel what time we go to sleep and wake up.” (Maass) Now that last one scares me a bit as it should you because law enforcement can know more about your life than you know. Our very phones have so much information about us that we personally input into the phone. “Many police agencies don’t obtain search warrants when requesting location data from carriers.” (Maass)

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That's my tracker,” by Peter Maass and Megha Rajagopalan they talk about how every personal information that a citizen has safe on their phone is not safe and that their phones are in danger. In the article, they mention how “1.3 million of call data was collected”. Millions of cell phone users have been swept up in government surveillance of their calls. That proves that cell phone companies have definitely been watching our every move and how our phones have obviously become like our personal trackers. In the article, they also mention how “Cellular systems constantly check and record the location of all phones on their networks – and this data is particularly treasured by police departments and online advertisers” this obviously shows that the government is able to obtain private information from citizens.

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Apple – One of the main ethical dilemmas faced by Apple is about safeguarding the privacy of their customers or complying with the government to assist them with investigations which may be for the betterment of the whole country. Apple has introduced operating systems with default full-disk encryptions since iOS 8, to protect its user’s privacy and security. However, the FBI believes that encryption is merely a marketing strategy that will attract criminals at the cost of country’s safety. Since the introduction of full-disk encryption, the user created a passcode and Apple could access any information in the phone without the passcode. They believed that they did not want the power to access content so that law enforcement could figure out a way to do it themselves instead of asking Apple to invade their customer’s privacy.

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