ABSTRACT
It is indisputable that cell phones and computers have become a central part of modern life. People routinely now use their cell phones as a central repository for almost every facet of their life-either on the phone itself or in the connections it makes to online entities, such as Facebook. Computers are also central and critical to people’s lives, although perhaps less so than even a few years ago with the rise of cell phone technology. All of the documents, letters, pictures, and other depictions of life may be placed on a person’s computer as a central storage facility. As such, cell phones and computers are also central to the lives of those who break the law. Not only may they keep their personal lives on their cell phones and computers, they may also keep records of their criminal activities on them-either explicity in documents, photos, e-mails, etc., or implicitly through those they call or the places they may visit, that are contained in the location data or computer history. It follows, then, that law enforcment agents will increasingly come into contact with phones and computers as they investigate crimes. At one time, searches and seizures of comptuers were mainly limited to child pornography cases. That time has passed, and officers are now constantly encountering computers in their work and, even more frequently, cell phones. Every person who is arrested is likely to have a cell phone on his or her person. The extent to which police officers can and should attempt to retrieve information from cell phones is now central in law enforcement dicussion. As with other such issues, cell phone/computer searches have come under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court.
