03/02/2020 Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473 - Supreme Court 2014 - Google Scholar Modern cell phones are of great value for both lawful and unlawful purposes. They can be used in committing many serious crimes, and they present new and difficult law enforcement problems. See Brief for United States in No. 13-212, pp. 2-3. At the same time, because of the role that these devices have come to play in contemporary life, searching their contents implicates very sensitive privacy interests that this Court is poorly positioned to understand and evaluate. Many forms of modern technology are making it easier and easier for both government and private entities to amass a wealth of information about the lives of ordinary Americans, and at the same time, many ordinary Americans are choosing to make public much information that was seldom revealed to outsiders just a few decades ago. In light of these developments, it would be very unfortunate if privacy protection in the 21st century were left primarily to the federal courts using the blunt instrument of the Fourth Amendment. Legislatures, elected by the people, are in a 2498 better position than we are to assess and respond to the changes that have already occurred *2498 and those that almost certainly will take place in the future. [1] Because the United States and California agree that these cases involve searches incident to arrest, these cases do not implicate the question whether the collection or inspection of aggregated digital information amounts to a search under other circumstances. [2] In Wurie's case, for example, the dissenting First Circuit judge argued that exigent circumstances could have justified a search of Wurie's phone. See 728 F.3d 1, 17 (2013) (opinion of Howard, J.) (discussing the repeated unanswered calls from "my house," the suspected location of a drug stash). But the majority concluded that the Government had not made an exigent circumstances argument. See id., at 1. The Government acknowledges the same in this Court. See Brief for United States in No. 13-212, p. 28, n. 8. [*] Cf. Hill v. California, 401 U.S. 797, 799-802, and n. 1, 91 S.Ct. 1106, 28 L.Ed.2d 484 (1971) (diary); Marron v. United States, 275 U.S. 192, 193, 198-199, 48 S.Ct. 74, 72 L.Ed. 231 (1927) (ledger and bills); Gouled v. United States, 255 U.S. 298, 309, 41 S.Ct. 261, 65 L.Ed. 647 (1921), overruled on other grounds, Warden, Md. Penitentiary v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 300-301, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1967) (papers); see United States v. Rodriguez, 995 F.2d 776, 778 (C.A.7 1993) (address book); United States v. Armendariz-Mata, 949 F.2d 151, 153 (C.A.5 1991) (notebook); United States v. Molinaro, 877 F.2d 1341 (C.A.7 1989) (wallet); United States v. Richardson, 764 F.2d 1514, 1527 (C.A.11 1985) (wallet and papers); United States v. Watson, 669 F.2d 1374, 1383-1384 (C.A.11 1982) (documents found in a wallet); United States v. Castro, 596 F.2d 674, 677 (C.A.5 1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 963, 100 S.Ct. 448, 62 L.Ed.2d 375 (1979) (paper found in a pocket); United States v. Jeffers, 520 F.2d 1256, 1267-1268 (C.A.7 1975) (three notebooks and meeting minutes); Bozel v. Hudspeth, 126 F.2d 585, 587 (C.A.10 1942) (papers, circulars, advertising matter, "memoranda containing various names and addresses"); United States v. Park Avenue Pharmacy, 56 F.2d 753, 755 (C.A.2 1932) ("numerous prescriptions blanks" and a check book). See also 3 W. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 5.2(c), p. 144 (5th ed. 2012) ("Lower courts, in applying Robinson, have deemed evidentiary searches of an arrested person to be virtually unlimited"); W. Cuddihy, Fourth Amendment: Origins and Original Meaning 847-848 (1990) (in the pre-Constitution colonial era, "[a]nyone arrested could expect that not only his surface clothing but his body, luggage, and saddlebags would be searched"). Save trees - read court opinions online on Google Scholar. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9647156672357738355&q=riley+v.+california&hl=en&as_sdt=2006 13/13