Is Warrant Required for Police to Search Contents of Arrestee’s Cell Phone?
State of Ohio v. Antwaun Smith, Case no. 2008-1781 2nd District Court of Appeals (Greene County) ISSUE: When a criminal suspect has been taken into custody and his cell phone has been lawfully seized by police incident to his arrest, do police officers violate the defendant’s Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures by conducting a warrantless search of the electronic files stored in the cell phone? BACKGROUND: Antwaun Smith was arrested for trafficking in crack cocaine after responding to a call to his cell phone placed by a drug customer who was acting as a police informant. After Smith was placed under arrest, the police searched his clothing and the passenger compartment of the vehicle he was riding in and took possession of his cell phone. Later that evening, after Smith had been booked into jail and without obtaining a search warrant, the officers conducted a search of the contents of his phone including call logs that listed prior calls between Smith’s p
