In most states, police can arrest people for minor offenses, including traffic offenses punishable only by a fine. In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ability of police in Texas to arrest a woman for failure to wear a seat belt after she was stopped while driving her two children home from soccer practice. Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318 (2001).
In the Atwater case, the woman was handcuffed and driven to the police station where she was booked and photographed. Her car was inventoried and towed. She ended up paying a $50 fine. Had the arrest in the Texas case happened today, the police could also likely have searched through her cell phone. This means, if she had a smartphone such as iPhone or Android, the police could search through all of her text messages, photos, calendar entries, and e-mails. In other words, much of her personal life would be exposed to the police as a result of her failing to wear a seatbelt.
As cell phones contain greater amounts of personal information, it seems that the Fourth Amendment would require police to obtain a warrant prior to searching through the contents. However, a number of courts, relying on Supreme Court cases decided before cell phones existed, have permitted these searches without warrants when a person is arrested.
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Source: law.com
By: Joshua Engel
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