Saying the nature of information contained on a cellphone “sets it apart from other physical objects,” a South Florida appeals court Wednesday ruled police needed a warrant before searching a phone that had been left behind in a stolen car.
A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld a circuit judge’s decision to suppress evidence from an abandoned cellphone in a case involving a juvenile.
The decision stemmed from an incident in which a Lauderhill police officer stopped a vehicle that was speeding and operating without headlights at night.
Two people got out and fled, but the officer found a cellphone in the vehicle, which had been stolen in Sunrise. The officer turned over the cellphone, which was protected by a password, to Sunrise police.
A detective was able to unlock the phone, which belonged to the juvenile. The juvenile was charged with burglary of a conveyance but sought to suppress the information found on the cell phone.
The court agreed with the juvenile’s arguments that police needed a warrant to gain access to the information.