Supreme Court of Canada: Police don't need warrants to search cellphones in arrests
Source: The Globe and Mail
Police do not need a search warrant before looking at the contents of a suspect’s cellphone as part of an arrest, as long as they meet certain conditions, including taking notes on how they searched and what they found, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.
The case was a major test of privacy in the digital age. Under common law rules developed by judges over centuries, police have the right during an arrest to search an individual’s handbag, purse or briefcase for evidence related to the crime he or she is suspected of committing or for weapons.
Kevin Fearon was suspected in an armed robbery of a jewellery kiosk at a Toronto flea market in 2009. When he was arrested, a police officer found a cellphone on him and, finding no password protection, looked quickly through texts and photographs. He found a message saying “We did it,” and he found a picture of a handgun. Mr. Fearon admitted to the robbery but said that he had used a fake gun, and that police had no right to search his cellphone. He was convicted of armed robbery, and the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, but said that if the cellphone’s contents had been protected by a password, the search would have been illegal.
Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/police-dont-need-warrants-to-search-cellphones-top-court-rules/article22038283/