03/02/2020
Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473 - Supreme Court 2014 - Google Scholar
Internet connectivity. The officer accessed information on the phone and noticed that some words (presumably in text
messages or a contacts list) were preceded by the letters "CK" — a label that, he believed, stood for "Crip Killers," a
slang term for members of the Bloods gang.
At the police station about two hours after the arrest, a detective specializing in gangs further examined the contents of
the phone. The detective testified that he "went through" Riley's phone "looking for evidence, because ... gang members
2481 will *2481 often video themselves with guns or take pictures of themselves with the guns." App. in No. 13-132, p. 20.
Although there was "a lot of stuff" on the phone, particular files that "caught [the detective's] eye" included videos of
young men sparring while someone yelled encouragement using the moniker "Blood." Id., at 11-13. The police also
found photographs of Riley standing in front of a car they suspected had been involved in a shooting a few weeks
earlier.
Riley was ultimately charged, in connection with that earlier shooting, with firing at an occupied vehicle, assault with a
semiautomatic firearm, and attempted murder. The State alleged that Riley had committed those crimes for the benefit
of a criminal street gang, an aggravating factor that carries an enhanced sentence. Compare Cal.Penal Code Ann. §
246 (2008) with § 186.22(b)(4)(B) (2014). Prior to trial, Riley moved to suppress all evidence that the police had
obtained from his cell phone. He contended that the searches of his phone violated the Fourth Amendment, because
they had been performed without a warrant and were not otherwise justified by exigent circumstances. The trial court
rejected that argument. App. in No. 13-132, at 24, 26. At Riley's trial, police officers testified about the photographs and
videos found on the phone, and some of the photographs were admitted into evidence. Riley was convicted on all three
counts and received an enhanced sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
The California Court of Appeal affirmed. No. D059840 (Cal. App., Feb. 8, 2013), App. to Pet. for Cert. in No. 13-132, pp.
1a-23a. The court relied on the California Supreme Court's decision in People v. Diaz, 51 Cal.4th 84, 119 Cal.Rptr.3d
105, 244 P.3d 501 (2011), which held that the Fourth Amendment permits a warrantless search of cell phone data
incident to an arrest, so long as the cell phone was immediately associated with the arrestee's person. See id., at 93,
119 Cal.Rptr.3d 105, 244 P.3d, at 505-506.
The California Supreme Court denied Riley's petition for review, App. to Pet. for Cert. in No. 13-132, at 24a, and we
granted certiorari, 571 U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 94, 181 L.Ed.2d 23 (2014).
B
In the second case, a police officer performing routine surveillance observed respondent Brima Wurie make an apparent
drug sale from a car. Officers subsequently arrested Wurie and took him to the police station. At the station, the officers
seized two cell phones from Wurie's person. The one at issue here was a "flip phone," a kind of phone that is flipped
open for use and that generally has a smaller range of features than a smart phone. Five to ten minutes after arriving at
the station, the officers noticed that the phone was repeatedly receiving calls from a source identified as "my house" on
the phone's external screen. A few minutes later, they opened the phone and saw a photograph of a woman and a baby
set as the phone's wallpaper. They pressed one button on the phone to access its call log, then another button to
determine the phone number associated with the "my house" label. They next used an online phone directory to trace
that phone number to an apartment building.
When the officers went to the building, they saw Wurie's name on a mailbox and observed through a window a woman
who resembled the woman in the photograph on Wurie's phone. They secured the apartment while obtaining a search
warrant and, upon later executing the warrant, found and seized 215 grams of crack cocaine, marijuana, drug
paraphernalia, a firearm and ammunition, and cash.
2482 *2482 Wurie was charged with distributing crack cocaine, possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute, and being a
felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g); 21 U.S.C. § 841(a). He moved to suppress
the evidence obtained from the search of the apartment, arguing that it was the fruit of an unconstitutional search of his
cell phone. The District Court denied the motion. 612 F.Supp.2d 104 (Mass.2009). Wurie was convicted on all three
counts and sentenced to 262 months in prison.
A divided panel of the First Circuit reversed the denial of Wurie's motion to suppress and vacated Wurie's convictions for
possession with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm as a felon. 728 F.3d 1 (2013). The court held that cell
phones are distinct from other physical possessions that may be searched incident to arrest without a warrant, because
of the amount of personal data cell phones contain and the negligible threat they pose to law enforcement interests. See
id., at 8-11.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9647156672357738355&q=riley+v.+california&hl=en&as_sdt=2006
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