Cal.1st: Probation condition to reveal all passwords to search phones and social media was overbroad

A juvenile’s probation conditions required that he and his family turn over all passwords to cell phones and social media sites. The condition is overbroad considering what probation seeks to accomplish (seeing if he has stolen iPhones), and it implicates Riley. In re Malik J., 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 849 (1st Dist. September 29, 2015):

Under the overbreadth doctrine, “conditions of probation that impinge on constitutional rights must be tailored carefully and reasonably related to the compelling state interest in reformation and rehabilitation.” (Victor L., supra, 182 Cal.App.4th at p. 910; Sheena K., supra, 40 Cal.4th at p. 890.) The mismatch here is of concern, because the threat of unfettered searches of Malik’s electronic communications significantly encroaches on his and potentially third parties’ constitutional rights of privacy and free speech. “Modern cell phones are not just another technological convenience. With all they contain and all they may reveal, they hold for many Americans ‘the privacies of life[.]’ [Citation]. The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought.” (Riley v. California (2014) ___ U.S. ___, ___ [189 L.Ed.2d 430, 134 S.Ct. 2473, 2494–2495, 2491] (Riley).) In view of these significant privacy implications, the electronics search condition must be modified to omit the requirement that Malik turn over passwords to social media sites and to restrict searches to those electronic devices found in his custody and control.

Same: In re Erica R., 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 843 (1st Dist. September 28, 2015)