July 25, 2014
Judge Tom
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Can the police search your phone without a warrant?

Texting privacy

The short answer to this question of whether the police can search your cell phone without a warrant is no, they cannot. However, like all constitutional rights, there are exceptions to this general rule.

In July of 2014, the United States Supreme Court decided two very important cases that dealt with a person’s privacy rights concerning their phone. The critical issue before the Court was whether the police can search a person’s phone after placing him/her under arrest, but before obtaining a search warrant. The Court concluded that the police must first obtain a warrant under such circumstances. There may be an exception to this rule when the destruction of evidence or officer safety is being threatened, but this would be an unusual case.

Listen below to Judge Tom discuss this case, your rights to cell phone privacy and whether or not this applies to students’ phones being searched at school.

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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2 Comments

  • David Shields
    March 8, 2017 5:57 pm count( 0 )

    My stepsons phone was taken inside a courtroom the Judge saw the text that was sent to my son’s phone from a another teenager who was my son’s friend had just left the courtroom leaving a nasty text on his phone calling the Judge a bitch’ . My son was put in lockup for 20 days now a month later the Judge wants my son’s text record telling my wife to get a record of his text.Is this justified or is it a violation of his civil rights under the 4th amendment.
    Dear David; Askthejudge.info is an education resource for teenagers about the laws that affect them. We do not provide legal advice to our readers, whether teen or adult. We suggest you speak with a criminal defense attorney about this. Take a look at our Teen Help Network for lawyers where you live. Good luck. -ATJ.info
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