Under search incident to arrest, may an officer search the arrestee's cell phone?

Under search incident to arrest, may an officer search the arrestee's cell phone?

• A. Yes to clothing and containers; no to cell phones.
• B. No to clothing; yes to cell phones.
• C. Yes to clothing and cell phones.
• D. No to containers; yes to clothing.

Answer: (A)

The main concept here is the scope of a search incident to arrest and how it applies to what can be examined on the arrestee. Under this rule, officers may search the arrestee’s person and the area within immediate reach to find weapons or prevent destruction of evidence. That extends to clothing and any containers in or on the arrestee that could conceal items. However, a cell phone’s digital contents are protected by strong privacy interests, and modern doctrine requires a warrant to search them, as established in Riley v. California. So while clothing and containers can be searched, the contents of a cell phone generally cannot be searched on the spot without a warrant or an applicable exception.

The main concept here is the scope of a search incident to arrest and how it applies to what can be examined on the arrestee. Under this rule, officers may search the arrestee’s person and the area within immediate reach to find weapons or prevent destruction of evidence. That extends to clothing and any containers in or on the arrestee that could conceal items. However, a cell phone’s digital contents are protected by strong privacy interests, and modern doctrine requires a warrant to search them, as established in Riley v. California. So while clothing and containers can be searched, the contents of a cell phone generally cannot be searched on the spot without a warrant or an applicable exception.