Can the Police Answer a Seized Cell Phone? (September 17, 2013)
Jeff Welty
The Ninth Circuit recently decided a case that addresses a question I’ve been asked several times: may the police answer a seized cell phone? The answer may depend on the […]
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September 17, 2013
The Ninth Circuit recently decided a case that addresses a question I’ve been asked several times: may the police answer a seized cell phone? The answer may depend on the […]
READ POST "Can the Police Answer a Seized Cell Phone? (September 17, 2013)"March 15, 2012
Yesterday, I wrote about a pair of recent cases about weaving within a lane of travel. Today, I want to mention another pair of recent cases related to automobiles. Last […]
READ POST "Scope of Consent to Search a Vehicle (March 15, 2012)"November 10, 2010
To be valid, consent to search must be voluntary. Is consent voluntary when given after an officer thrreatens to obtain a search warrant if consent is withheld? Generally, yes. See […]
READ POST "Consent to Search under Threat of Search Warrant (November 10, 2010)"June 22, 2010
It was Father’s Day this Sunday, so it’s a good time for a post about family relationships. As a jumping off point, I’ll use a case that was recently highlighted […]
READ POST "Parents’ Consent to Search Childrens’ Rooms (June 22, 2010)"April 22, 2010
The scope of a suspect’s consent to search is determined objectively, by “what . . . the typical reasonable person [would] have understood by the exchange between the officer and […]
READ POST "Consent Searches and Outbuildings (April 22, 2010)"February 11, 2010
I’ve bumped into a couple recent cases in which law enforcement officers have requested consent to search a car and have received ambiguous responses. (For a discussion of when officers […]
READ POST "Do You Mind if I Search? (February 11, 2010)"December 22, 2009
Note about holiday blogging schedule: Because I am certain that all of you are planning your holidays around this blog, I thought I’d mention that I’ll continue to post daily […]
READ POST "Terry Frisk During a Consensual Encounter? (December 22, 2009)"May 13, 2009
Most readers of this blog know (1) that a search done pursuant to consent doesn’t violate the Fourth Amendment, but (2) that the scope of search is limited by the […]
READ POST "Computer Searches and the Scope of Consent (May 13, 2009)"