We recently discussed illegal searches by the police, which often focus on officers searching your home or your car. In many cases, the police need a search warrant to enter your house if they do not have your consent. Performing the search without consent or a warrant could constitute an illegal search, invalidating evidence that the police find during that search.
These days, it is very common for the police to look for digital evidence, such as text messages, pictures, photographs or other information stored on a person’s phone. They may be interested in that person’s location data, their search history or a record of the calls that they have made.
A warrant is still necessary
In many cases, the police still need to get a warrant, even if they are searching a phone instead of a house. The phone is still a person’s private property, and they have an expectation of privacy on their device. Police can ask someone to enter a code or use biometric data to unlock a phone so that they can conduct a search, but the person still has a right to refuse consent. If they do, then officers need to get a search warrant.
That being said, the officers do not necessarily have to use the warrant for the phone itself. They can sometimes get information through the third-party doctrine, such as obtaining location data from an Internet service provider or getting a report of direct messages a person has sent from a social media company.
Do you believe that the police have performed an illegal search while conducting an investigation? This could be a violation of your rights, and you must understand your legal defense options.