S.D.N.Y.: Cell phone was properly seized during protective sweep

Police entered the house with an arrest warrant, which is permitted by Payton. Once inside they performed a protective sweep and found a cell phone clearly related to the defendant, and they had plenty of reason to believe evidence would be on the phone, so its evidentiary value was immediately apparent. Therefore, it was subject to seizure because it was in “plain view” at the time of the valid protective sweep. [But, the court says not a word about searching the phone.] United States v. Delva, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36845 (S.D. N.Y. March 11, 2014):

There were multiple lawful reasons why the Officers had probable cause to believe that the Cell Phone was evidence of or contained evidence of criminal activity: the Officers were in the Apartment to arrest a man (Accilien) whom they were arresting for kidnapping, and they knew that cell phones had been used in connection with that crime. Accilien identified himself as an occupant of the bedroom in which the cell phones were found, and a letter addressed to Accilien was found on a table in that bedroom from another individual who was already incarcerated for the same crime. At the time of its seizure, the Officers believed that the cell phones belonged to Accilien.

The Officers had probable cause to seize the Cell Phone even if they believed or had reason to believe that it may have belonged to defendant Delva: Delva had just been handcuffed in the same room, drugs and a gun had been found in plain view near him, and Accilien had identified the items in the closet as belonging to Delva. The association between narcotics trafficking (for which Delva was initially arrested) and cell phones has been long established—cell phones can store information and images relating to the crime and participants in the crime (that is, who bought and sold the drugs).

In determining whether probable cause to seize the Cell Phone existed, the Court looks at the totality of the facts and circumstances as they existed at the scene. See Barrios-Moriera, 872 F.2d at 17-18. Those facts and circumstances leave no doubt that the Officers were acting within the law when they seized the Cell Phone. As the legal principles outlined above make clear, the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution only prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures; here, the seizure was perfectly reasonable.