United States v. Lara

Defendant appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, contending that his Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures was violated when probation officers conducted two warrantless, suspicionless searches of his cell phone. The court rejected the government's contention that defendant waived his Fourth Amendment rights where acceptance of the terms of probation, including suspicionless searches of his person and property, is one factor that bears on the reasonableness of the search, but it is not in itself dispositive. The court concluded that defendant had a privacy interest in his cell phone and the data it contained and that privacy interest was substantial in light of the broad amount of data contained in, or accessible through, his cell phone. Although defendant's privacy was somewhat diminished in light of his status as a probationer, it was not diminished or waived because he accepted as a condition of his probation a clear and unequivocal search provision authorizing cell phone searches (he did not) or because he subscribed to cell phone service using a different first name (he did). After balancing defendant's privacy interest and the government's interest in combating recidivism, the court concluded that the circumstances in this case were unreasonable. Further, the exception to the exclusionary rule in Davis v. United States for binding appellate precedent is inapplicable in this case. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded. View "United States v. Lara" on Justia Law