Opinion of the Court in Riley v. California
Warrantless Cellphone Searches Are Unconstitutional
The ultimate touchstone of the Fourth Amendment is ‘reasonableness.’” — Brigham City v. Stuart (2006). Our cases have determined that “where a search is undertaken by law enforcement officials to discover evidence of criminal wrongdoing … reasonableness generally requires the obtaining of a judicial warrant.” — Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton (1995). Such a warrant ensures that the inferences to support a search are “drawn by a neutral and detached magistrate instead of being judged by the officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime.” — Johnson v. United States (1948). In the absence of a…
