IL: Cell phone search was not subject to community caretaking function where purpose was to call his relatives, but they looked at texts

Defendant’s cell phone was searched four years before Riley, and the state conceded that it applied. So, it argued that the community caretaking function or consent applied, and the court found neither applied. The state argued that the officers searched the phone to look for phone numbers of relatives to call to tell them he was hospitalized, but they looked at the text messages and then put that in a search warrant request for the cell phone. There were easier ways to get the information, like ask the defendant. People v. Butler, 2015 IL App (1st) 131870, 2015 Ill. App. LEXIS 979 (Dec. 24, 2015).

On remand from the Ninth Circuit on whether the government was involved in a private search, the court finds no evidence to support it. United States v. Grimm, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171289 (D.Nev. Dec. 23, 2015).*